Melbourne's First Reusable Coffee Cup Sharing Network Is Launching This Week

Doing right by the planet and nixing disposable coffee cups is all fine and dandy...until the dreaded day comes when you accidentally leave your reusable cup at home. It's no easy task forgoing your daily coffee.

Well, your forgetful tendencies can impact your caffeine habit no longer, with the launch of Viva La Cup — a nifty new initiative from Melbourne's Benjamin Korff and Lily Yap. The pair started the social enterprise to help squash the use of single-use plastics and cups, aiming to be a zero-waste operation.

Viva La Cup's signature reusable cups are available to borrow from a network of participating cafes across Melbourne. You'll pay a $10 deposit when you buy your coffee and then receive a full refund when you return the cup to a participating business. They'll even do the hard part and wash it for you.

The cups themselves are crafted from long-lasting stainless steel, double-walled to keep your coffee hot without burning any hands. In keeping with Viva La Cup's zero waste philosophy, the material has been carefully chosen for its reusability, high recycling rate and minimal environmental impact.

Korff and Yap are even taking it one step further, and have pledged to donate 50 percent of their profits to projects working in waste reduction, waste management and conservation of marine wildlife.

Venues currently participating in the scheme — which starts trials on Wednesday, July 25 — include The Basement Cafe & Bar, Jungle Juice Bar, Manchester Lane's Là Kuàizi and Kings and Knaves Espresso on William Street.

The Viva La Cup reusable cup program launches on Wednesday, July 25. To find out when more cafes sign up head to the Viva La Cup Facebook page or the website.

Image: Letícia Almeida