Danish City Hits 89% Return Rate on Reusable Coffee Cups

In Aarhus, Denmark, getting your coffee to go means skipping the trash bin entirely.

Instead of disposable cups, cafes across this Danish city now hand customers sturdy reusable cups for just 76 cents. When you're done, pop it into one of 27 "reverse vending machines" scattered around town and get your money back. The result? An astonishing 89% of cups returned in 2025.

The REUSEABLE project launched in 2024 after local baristas told city officials they wanted to ditch disposables but couldn't handle the logistics alone. The municipality of Aarhus partnered with Norwegian packaging company TOMRA to create a system that works for everyone.

The cups come in two styles: blue-lidded for hot drinks and clear for cold beverages and beer. They're branded with "REUSEABLE" in bold letters, and students like Emilio Sopprani have started collecting them. "They're very nice cups to have for parties or when friends come over," he says.

Denmark tosses 820,000 single-use cups every single day. Takeaway packaging makes up nearly half of all waste produced in the country.

The Ripple Effect

What makes Aarhus different from failed cup programs in Lisbon, Dubai, and California is accessibility. Those 27 reverse vending machines blanket the city center, university campuses, and the Royal Danish Library. Students don't need to think twice about where to return their cups.

At Aarhus University cafeterias, reusable cups are now the only option. City center cafes still offer disposables, but the reusable choice costs about the same. "We see that the market is very cost-driven," says Anders Laursen, the project manager.

The success is spreading beyond coffee. The same system now works for food containers and other takeaway packaging across participating businesses.

Young people are driving the change. University students have embraced the cups as both practical and planet-friendly, using them at home long before returning them. Some keep collections rotating through their kitchens for weeks.

Other cities worldwide are watching closely as Aarhus proves that reusable systems can work at scale when the infrastructure makes it easy.

One Danish city found a simple truth: people will do the right thing when you make it as easy as grabbing their morning coffee.