Press release, embargoed for publication until 00.01am, 8th January
PUSH FOR REUSABLE CUPS HAS AMBITIONS TO SAVE 150 MILLION PA P E R C U P S A Y E A R • Hubbub testing new approaches to reusable behaviour • First campaign sees Huey Morgan urge people of Manchester to Grab Your Cup • Research reveals forgetfulness stops 1 in 3 people from using reusable cup Today, environmental charity Hubbub is announcing their ambition to double the uptake of reusable cups for hot drinks. The initiative has been built using funds collected from Starbucks 5p charge on drinks purchased in a paper cup across its stores nationwide. Currently 3 billion paper cups are used every year in the UK and it’s estimated that less than 5% of all hot drinks are sold to people bringing a reusable cup. Efforts to increase this figure have seen Starbucks shift sales in reusable cups to 5%, up from 2.2% two years ago. Hubbub plans to work with major retailers and independent coffee shops to raise this to 10% of all sales, which would see a reduction of at least 150 million paper cups a year. Research1 released today by Hubbub found that Britons buy an average of 4 take away hot drinks each week, with 1 in 5 buying at least one a day. The research also found that over twothirds (69%) of people have their own reusable coffee cup but only 1 in 6 say they remember to use them every time they buy a hot drink. The most common reason for this gap in reusable cup usage is consumers forgetting to take their cup with them when they leave home in the morning. Hubbub also found that the number of people using reusable cups drops off during the day as people feel uncomfortable asking retail outlets to wash their cups and refill them. Hubbub will be running a range of innovative behaviour change campaigns throughout 2020 to shift this, starting with the Grab Your Cup campaign kicking off in Manchester. As caffeineseeking commuters return to work from the Christmas holidays, a new ear worm will be reminding them to leave home with their reusable cup. From today, music lovers in Manchester will wake up to a new jingle on radio stations, Spotify and YouTube, created by Fun Lovin’ Criminals front man, producer, BBC Radio 2 and 6 DJ and all-round legend, Huey Morgan. Grab Your Cup aims to remind people to take their reusable cups in the morning, remove any feelings of awkwardness they may have about taking a reusable cup to a store and shift widespread behaviour by making it the norm to drink from a reusable cup. High street chains Caffe Nero, Costa, Greggs, McDonald’s and Starbucks are being joined by independent stores across Manchester to share the message and this will be supported by adverts in the heart of the city.