A brief look at reuse: Lessons from Copenhagen and Aarhus

Single-use coffee cups have become a major contributor to city waste streams. Around 500 billion single-use cups are disposed of globally every year, and cities spend roughly 30–50% of their urban litter budgets managing single-use waste.

In this extended episode of the Reloop Brief, Barry Snedden speaks with Jenni Hume, who joined Zero Waste Europe’s study tour examining reusable cup systems in Copenhagen and Aarhus. The trip brought together around 70 participants, including NGOs, European city officials, industry stakeholders and reuse experts.

The episode also features the audience Q&A recorded after the first screening of a new short film produced by Reloop and the Marine Conservation Society. The film takes a closer look at how the REUSABLE cup system in Aarhus operates alongside Denmark’s deposit return system.

The panel includes Simon Rossau from the REUSABLE system in Aarhus, Stine Ullmann-Poulsenfrom Dansk Retursystem, and Catherine Gemmell-Simpsonfrom the Marine Conservation Society.

To view the three films produced as part of this project, visit reloopplatform.org/films