Two Cornish businesses have joined forces to launch Cup Club Bude, a community-led scheme set to make Bude the first town in Cornwall to go single-use cup free.
The Circular Mindset CIC has partnered with Circular&Co., the Perranporth-based pioneers in circular product design, to introduce an innovative reusable cup system across Bude’s cafés and coffee shops.
Customers are invited to borrow a Circular&Co. cup for a £1 deposit, enjoy their takeaway drink and return the cup to any participating location to reclaim their deposit or swap for a fresh one.
The scheme, which has launched at Crooklets Beach Café, is designed to eliminate single-use culture, significantly reduce waste across the town and empower customers to make a positive impact on Bude’s natural environment.
The UK consumes an estimated 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups each year, with less than one per cent being recycled. Cup Club Bude offers a scalable, hassle-free alternative that benefits local businesses, residents and the environment alike.
Lauren Plummer, co-founder of The Circular Mindset CIC along with Millie Smith-Heaven, said: “As a newly formed community interest company here in Bude, we’re proud that our first project – Cup Club Bude – makes our town the first in Cornwall to run a returnable cup scheme.
“Partnering with Circular&Co., a Cornish business leading the way in reuse, feels like the perfect match. As a coastal community, we see first-hand the impact of single-use waste, so it means a lot to be working together to tackle it and show what’s possible when Cornwall leads the change. We’re immensely grateful for Circular&Co.’s generous support and partnership, which has made this pilot possible.”
Cup Club Bude brings various benefits to local businesses. By adopting a returnable cup system, cafés and coffee shops can reduce the ongoing costs and storage demands associated with single-use cups.
It also positions participating venues ahead of changing regulations around single-use plastics, helping them to future-proof their operations while aligning with broader sustainability goals.
Dan Dicker, founder of Circular&Co., said: “It’s a real privilege to be supporting such an exciting initiative right here in Cornwall. We’re on a mission to make single-use culture a thing of the past, so seeing Cup Club Bude come to life is extremely rewarding.
“Our partnership with The Circular Mindset CIC is a perfect example of how local collaboration can drive meaningful change. Thanks to this, Bude is setting a precedent for other towns in Cornwall and beyond. We hope the scheme inspires more communities to rethink their single-use habits and embrace circular solutions that benefit both people and the planet.”
The Circular Mindset CIC scheme is currently crowdfunding to expand to more cafés, increase the number of reusable cups and create collection points and signage throughout Bude.
