DEEPTI’S RESEARCH DISPATCH
How Do We Increase Adoption of Reusable Coffee Cups?
I’ve been curious about the logistics of reusable coffee cups, since they are a good case study for sustainability in the food industry. (And I love coffee. And mugs.)
Grabbing a quick coffee on the go is ingrained in a lot of people’s lifestyles. What would it take to modify this habit to eliminate waste from the use of disposable cups?
In this post, I’m approaching the question from the point of view of a designer. We can make changes for ourselves, but to really make a dent in the waste problem, we need to increase the overall adoption rate of the changes.
As I wrote in my recent piece on time poverty, we need to design sustainable behaviors while taking into account everyone’s constraints, including the busiest among us.
Below, I go into the research to get our wheels turning on this design problem.
Bringing your own cup
Customers bringing their own reusable cups is one readily available option to reduce waste. With a few lifestyle adjustments on our part, it can become second nature.
Let’s think through the logistics of having a reusable mug handy when you need it. There are a few different actions you would need to add to your day:
- (Remember to) pack your cup before heading out for coffee.
- Ask the barista to serve the coffee in…
