Velocity reusables project

We are working to promote and use reusable takeaway packaging in our café. Velocity hopes to normalise the behaviour of customers using reusables and demonstrate the viability of reusable options and encourage other local businesses to follow suit. We want to reduce waste and work towards a more circular economy.

The majority of single-use packaging in the Highlands goes to landfill, gets incinerated or thrown away as litter. Paper and compostable takeaway cannot go in our blue recycling bins and require separate collection for recycling or industrial composting which is costly and poses a challenge for collection, as customers often leave the premises and are unlikely to return with their food and drink packaging.

As a first step, we sell branded reusable cups made by ‘KeepCup’ at cost price to encourage customers to move away from single-use items. The reusable Velocity cups are available as glass for £15 or plastic for £11. We also sell branded reusable stainless steel lunchboxes made by ‘Mintie Lunchboxes’ at the cost price of £17.50. These can be purchased in our café.

We are currently not in a position to remove all single-use items at this stage due to the influx of tourists and one-time customers to the café during certain times of year. Velocity’s single-use items are out of sight from customers to try and deter them from using these but this form of disposable takeaway packaging is so normalised that people expect it to be available. From behaviour change research, charging for an item encourages uptake of reusables more than offering a discount. To coincide with the launch of the branded reusables, we introduced a 40p charge on all single-use takeaway packaging to encourage customers to reduce waste and work towards a more circular economy.

Customers do not need to use the Velocity branded items, any reusable is acceptable. As we are a small independent business, we are able to pilot different options and approaches. It is not uncommon for cafés to charge an extra 40p for plant-based milks or decaffeinated options for drinks but this is not something that we do. We therefore did not see an issue with charging 40p per single-use item on top of the normal drink or meal price and the overall response has been positive from customers. The 40p charge also means that we are actually making a profit from the sales of single-use items which may help to offset the cost of introducing different forms of reusables going forward.

We continue to have informative posters up in the café as well as clear messaging through social media so that customers are informed about any changes going forward. We are also currently researching reusable cup and container schemes such as deposit return models or app-based and QR options.

Would you like to know more about Velocity’s reusables project? Contact HCWP@velocitylove.co.uk