Although many cafes have now switched to using more expensive ‘compostable’ throwaway cups, like most destinations in New Zealand, Wānaka doesn’t have the infrastructure to process them.
With the help of Wastebusters, Plastic Free Wānaka and local businesses, the SUCfree campaign is supporting community-led behaviour change, making takeaway cups a thing of the past and making ‘using-your-own’ the norm.
Twenty-four cafes and caravans in Wānaka have now implemented cup-lending schemes or libraries and eleven are completely SUCfree, saving 180,000 cups from landfill annually.
The 2021 Wastebusters’ Resourceful Communities survey revealed that an outstanding 72% of Wānaka residents always or usually used their own cup when getting a hot drink – a massive increase from 60% in 2019.
As the town embraces the SUCfree movement, hear about the key components that have helped make it a success in the video below.
If you’re after a more permanent solution – or an environmentally friendly souvenir or gift – you can join the revolution by purchasing a SUCfree Wānaka bullet cup.
These stainless steel, twin-walled cups come in pink, green or black, 12oz ($40) or 8oz ($35) – and 100% of the profits go back into reducing single-use plastics in our town. You can buy yours at the following places, or just drop us an email at [email protected] and we’ll hook you up!
Wanakup is a non-profit organisation founded by local baristas, whose thermally-insulated reusable cups can be found at local cafes, hotels, businesses and events (as well as in Palmerston North, Nelson and New South Wales!) You can borrow a cup for a $10 deposit, then return it or swap it out for a clean one at any participating cafe or establishment – or keep the cup forever! For the first time this winter, you’ll also see Wanakup in all Cardrona and Treble Cone outlets, making that early morning coffee run so much easier!
AgainAgain is a cup lending system with a nationwide network – so you can borrow a cup in Wānaka for a $3 deposit and return it in Queenstown, Nelson, Auckland, Wellington… and get your money back!
Cafes with an asterisk* are 100% SUCfree.