Disposable paper cups might seem better for the environment, but a 2023 study reveals that they’re just as problematic as their plastic counterparts. That’s because paper cups aren’t just paper. If they were, the hot beverage would leak right out. Disposable “paper” cups are in fact made up of paper and a thin plastic lining which can take decades to biodegrade.
Manufacturing paper cups exacts another unseen toll on the environment—20 million trees must be cut down each year to produce 500 million disposable cups each year. In the USA, only 0.25% of those cups will be recycled. In Germany, 2.6 billion paper cups end up in landfills every year. Denmark uses 300 million disposable cups a year, and the average lifecycle of a cup is 15 minutes. [1] Many of those cups end up in the ocean because no part of Denmark is more than 50 km from the coast. [2]
In response to this crisis, Visa and TOMRA—a global leader in reverse vending machines (RVMs)—teamed up to create a workable Reusable packaging solution, which they’re piloting in the municipality of Aarhus for the next three years. The solution allows users to receive instant payouts—facilitated by Shift4—to their credit or debit cards for returning reusable packaging to a set of innovative machines. They’re also bringing a taste of that solution to Nordic Fintech Week 2024 in September.
Recommended: Explore the Future of Finance at Nordic Fintech Week
Reusing versus recycling
The percentage of paper cups which are recycled is shockingly low. The plastic lining in these cups also means that they can only be recycled in special facilities. For those cups that aren’t recycled and end up in landfills, the plastic coating releases methane—a potent greenhouse gas—as it breaks down. [3]
According to a report by Eunomia Research and Consulting, even if a country has implemented separate paper and card trash bins, takeaway packaging often contains residuals which complicates the recycling process.
“It is easy to get excited when Visa’s technology is used to help partners such as TOMRA accelerate sustainable commerce and support consumers and businesses to make greener choices.”
Heidi Gohn
Visa Head of Merchants Sales & Acquiring in the Nordics & Baltics
Paper cups also have a “high wet strength” which makes them difficult to recycle, and they’re often extracted from the recycling process and sent to an incinerator. A small number of coffee shops offer BYOC—bring your own cup—discounts, but the solution is unfeasible for any significant impact, and many coffee shops don’t offer it at all.
Eunomia’s study modelled a reuse system versus a recycling system, establishing what the return rate for a reuse system must be to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG). If a reusable cup is reused at least six times, and the return rate for the cup is 83%, it will produce lower emissions than its disposable counterpart. [4]
In the Aarhus pilot, the Visa-TOMRA collaboration is already achieving an 85% return rate—2% higher than the break-even point—and each reusable cup can be reused hundreds of times, according to an email received by Nordic Fintech Magazine.
How the Visa-TOMRA system works
The Visa-TOMRA collaboration introduces a 100% open system where users scan a Visa or other EMVco card at a return station, then receive 5 danish kroner back to their credit or debit cards after returning the cup. The return stations aren’t vendor-specific, so they don’t lock users into using one reusable package scheme only.
The system also removes friction by not forcing users to carry around slips of paper or to go to specific retailers to claim their voucher.
Another point of friction has existed with previous systems which has caused those systems to fail—the need for companies to collect and clean the cups themselves. With the Visa-TOMRA collaboration, cafe owners don’t have to deal with dirty dishes on their counters or handle additional cleaning duties. TOMRA takes care of the cleaning using automation and industrialised cleaning methods, allowing the system to scale to other forms of reusable packaging.
Recommended: Explore the Future of Finance at Nordic Fintech Week
The municipality of Aarhus three-year trial
The Municipality of Aarhus in Denmark has signed up to be the first city to test the TOMRA and Visa solution. For the pilot in Aarhus, TOMRA has provided reusable cups to over 40 participating cafes. At least once every 48 hours, TOMRA collects all returned cups from return stations situated across the city, then washes and sanitises them following all the stringent standards set by the relevant food authorities. After the cleaning process, personnel manually verify the status of each cup before returning it to the loop.
TOMRA collects all cups using electric vehicles, and the overall drop in CO2 emissions compared to using a disposable paper cup can be as high as 70%. The cups are made of PP (polypropylene), an extremely durable and hard plastic that can be washed many times, and which is recyclable.
Each cup has an ID, allowing TOMRA to monitor how many times the cup has been reused.
Although the Aarhus trial is still in its first year, the numbers paint an impressive picture. The reuse loop has circulated approximately 400,000 cups so far. Some cups have been reused at least 25 times, well above the six-cup benchmark to achieve reductions in emissions.
Preliminary estimates suggest that the system in Aarhus has contributed to a reduction of approximately eight tons of CO2 emissions to date.
The initial trial focuses on hot and cold beverage containers, which has the lowest benchmarks for emission reductions. Once the system proves successful, Visa and TOMRA plan to expand the solution to include other takeaway containers, creating an open, convenient, and sustainable system for food packaging.
TOMRA-Visa coffee at Nordic Fintech Week 2024
The environmental impact of an event with 2,000 attendees can be significant if circular measures aren’t implemented. In response, Visa and TOMRA will be bringing the reusable packaging solution to Copenhagen to the TAP1 venue where Nordic Fintech Week will be held in September.
Attendees at the Nordic Fintech Week 2024 in September will be able to experience the reusable packaging experience first-hand. TOMRA is bringing its machines and 10,000 cups to the event, all of it sponsored by Visa. All coffees at NFW24 will be served in reusable cups. Once you’re finished with your drink, you’ll be able to return it at any of the return stations that will be spread around the event space.
“We are thrilled for this partnership with TOMRA, as it fits perfectly with our core mission,” says Heidi Gohn, Visa Head of Merchants Sales & Acquiring in the Nordics & Baltics. “It is easy to get excited when Visa’s technology is used to help partners such as TOMRA accelerate sustainable commerce and support consumers and businesses to make greener choices.”
“We’re thrilled to see Visa supporting this initiative at the Nordic Fintech event,” says Geir Saether, Senior Vice President Circular Economy & Head of TOMRA Reuse. “We believe our novel automated collection points can play a crucial role in reducing environmental impact by fostering more sustainable behaviours.”
