SUCfree
SUCfree Wānaka is a community-based campaign with the ultimate goal of Wānaka becoming Aotearoa’s first single-use cup free town.
Before its establishment, over one million plastic-lined, non-recyclable cups were piling into landfills each year.
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 12 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.
Want to start your own SUCfree journey?
SUCfree Wanaka is here to help. We have created a handy guide which shares our story and experience of community-led collaborative behaviour change.
Our 20 page guide includes guidance on how to get started, what makes for a successful campaign, tips and tricks for baristas, FAQs from customers, case studies and links to helpful resources.
How to go SUCfree in Wānaka
Wānaka has twelve outlets that are completely 100% SUCfree, and many more where you can borrow a cup through cup lending schemes Wanakup and Again Again, or use a mug library. It's never been easier to sit, BYO or borrow.
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!
- Fedeli – 47 Helwick Street
- Big Fig – 105 Ardmore Street
- Paper Plus – 23 Helwick Street
- Revology Concept Store – 28 Helwick Street
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!
Again Again 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!
The following locations offer a reusable cup lending option.
Cafes with an asterisk* are 100% SUCfree.
- Alchemy Cafe – 151 Ardmore Street*
- Arc Restaurant – 74 Ardmore Street, Wānaka*
- Big Fig – 105 Ardmore Street*
- B.Social Brewery & Bar – 60 Anderson Road
- Columbus Cafe – 100 Sir Tim Wallis Drive
- Cardrona Après Cafe & Bar – 50 Cardrona Valley Road*
- Cardrona Ski Resort*
- Double Black Cafe – 46 Kingfisher Crescent, Albert Town*
- Dripping Bowl – 82 Anderson Road
- Federal Diner and Fedeli – 47 Helwick Street*
- Hammer & Nail Cafe – 3 Cliff Wilson Streety
- Hāwea Hotel Cafe – 1 Capell Street, Hāwea
- Hāwea Store & Kitchen – 33 Capell Avenue, Hāwea
- Kai Whakapai – 121 Ardmore Street
- Little Black Caravan – 15 Gordon Road
- Little Cup of Happy – 51 Brownston Street
- New World Three Parks Cafe – 83 Sir Tim Wallis Drive
- Patagonia Chocolates – 155 Ardmore Street
- Pembroke Patisserie – 20 Alison Avenue, Albert Town
- Relishes Cafe – 1/99 Ardmore Street
- Revology Concept Store – 28 Helwick Street*
- Ritual Espresso Cafe – 18 Helwick Street
- Scroggin Cafe – 71 Ardmore Street
- The Good Spot Cafe – 34 Anderson Road
- Treble Cone Ski Resort*
- Urban Grind Eatery – 72 Ardmore Street
- Velo Cafe – 2 Motatapu Road, Glendhu Bay*
- Wineglass Cafe, Edgewater Resort – 54 Sargood Drive*