Jen Rodgers on how Otago Polytechnic's Eden Cafe has fared after ditching disposable coffee cups more than a year ago.

A Dunedin cafe's move to ditch disposable coffee cups has saved an estimated 35,000 coffee cups from entering landfill.



Eden Cafe, which is owned by Otago Polytechnic, stopped using disposable cups in late February 2016, in an effort to break the throwaway habit.



"There were a few initial grumbles, but it has gone very well," Otago Polytechnic sustainable practice advisor Jen Rodgers said.

The cafe now served all drinks in keep-cups or crockery made by students, with the only downside being the odd disappearance of the handmade cups, she said.

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HAMISH McNEILLY/STUFF Eden Cafe switched to sustainable options over a year ago.

The cafe's commitment to sustainability has not stopped there, with ceramic bowls now used instead of takeaway salad containers, Rodgers said.

Food scraps went into organic bins, which in turn were fed into the polytechnic's worm farms, and unwanted food was redistributed by FoodShare Dunedin.

"There is still more to do," Rodgers concedes.

JEN RODGERS/SUPPLIED The number of takeaway coffee cups served each week before the cafe banned the cups.

She said it was pleasing the cafe's profit had not decreased because of the changes, nor had they lost any patronage.

A visual survey around the cafe tables revealed many people using their own keep-cups.

Many of those were bought from the cafe, providing additional revenue.

HAMISH McNEILLY/STUFF Jen Rodgers at Eden Cafe, which has saved more than 500 disposable coffee cups from going into landfill each week.

The biggest upside was that bins were no longer clogged with disposable cups.

"It's really great, because we are saving at least 500 cups form going into landfill each week," Rodgers said.

The cafe's move attracted global media attraction, and interest from other New Zealand cafes wanting to replicate the idea.

"It has worked for us."