FAQs

Why should I choose to re-use?

Each year over 300 billion single-use coffee cups are manufactured globally. Due to their plastic content, less than 2% will ever be recycled. As takeaway drink consumption grows, so does the problem of waste.

Each time you choose to re-use, even just once a week, you will be helping in the fight against single-use waste. Imagine the massive difference we could make if everyone did the same. If 2 million people chose to re-use just once a week, we would stop 104,000,000 single-use cups going to landfill each year.

Follow us @ecoffeecup.official and share your #choosetoreuse journey.

Can I re-use Ecoffee Cup in my local coffee shop?

Incentives for bringing your own cup are becoming more and more common in the UK and across Europe. With up to 50p/ 50c discount each time you choose to re-use, means that with as few as twenty re-uses, you could have paid for your Ecoffee Cup!

Here’s the current league table of the main high street chains:

Chain

Reuse

Discount

Pret a Manger

Yes

£0.50p

Café Nero

Yes

2 stamps per coffee on our loyalty card

Costa Coffee

Yes

£0.25p (Excludes some franchises)

Starbucks

Yes

£0.25p

Roadchef “Fresh Food Cafe”

Yes

£0.25p

Greggs

Yes

£0.20p

Benugo

Yes

£0.10p

What is Ecoffee Cup made from?

Our current Ecoffee Cup range is made from plants – 100% natural Polylactic Acid, a bio polymer derived from sugar-beet, sugarcane or corn. Compared with petroleum-based materials, PLA can achieve carbon “break even” – through its natural growing phase. It is also is commercially biodegradable/ or recyclable at end-of-life, via RENEW.  It is odour and flavour-taint-free, making it the perfect material for hot beverages.

Lids & Sleeves

Our lids and sleeves are made from pure, food grade silicone, using oxygen and silica (sand) as their base material. They are suitable for high temperature usage up to +120°C  NOT MADE WITH NATURAL LATEX RUBBER.

Please email hello@ecoffeecup.com for further information.

About Original Ecoffee Cup

Is Ecoffee Cup microwave-safe?

From July 2019, Ecoffee Cup sold in black boxes (see photo) can be used in microwave.

Microwave should be used for reheat only at a maximum 800W for no longer than 40 second intervals. DO NOT EXCEED THESE GUIDELINES.

Remove lid but attach silicone sleeve prior to microwave use. Caution: Cup will be hot upon removal from microwave.

Original Ecoffee Cup sold in kraft boxes and some limited edition collections, are not suitable for microwave usage.

If you are uncertain, please check bottom of Cup for usage instructions.

Original Ecoffee Cup sold in kraft boxes and limited edition collections, are not suitable for microwave usage.

How does Ecoffee Cup test its products to ensure that they are safe?

Our products are tested regularly in Europe by independent test houses, Intertek and TUV Rheinland, to comply with EU (LFGB) Food Contact regulations (EC) No. 1935/2004 and (EC) No.10/ 2011. We also test over-and-above the regulations to ensure Ecoffee Cup is suitable for regular usage at +100˚C. Ecoffee Cup also complies with US FDA and Japan Food Contact regulations. We are happy to share these results with our customers upon request.

Why have you changed the formulation in your most recent Ecoffee Cup?

We constantly look to improve Ecoffee Cup. Our latest version can be used in the microwave* and is significantly stronger, which makes it more durable for longer everyday use.

*Subject to usage guidelines.

Is Ecoffee Cup “environmentally friendly”?

Yes. Although we choose not to use this term in any of our communication because it is open to significant interpretation. Our mission is to provide beautiful, practical and affordable products that make a significant contribution towards the reduction of single-use items. Since we started in 2014, our customers have prevented more than 10 million single-use cups from entering the waste stream and subsequent landfill.

If that’s not “environmentally friendly”, we don’t know what is?

Is Ecoffee Cup biodegradable?

In order to make a claim of biodegradability and comply with EU standard EN 13432, a product must biodegrade 90% within 6 months. For consumer durable products such as Ecoffee Cup, this is simply not achievable. Despite what some of our less-than-transparent competitors may claim, without exception, there is no re-usable Cup on the market that currently meets this standard.

More about biodegradability

How do I dispose of Ecoffee Cup when I am finished with it?

We believe in taking responsibility for everything we create, that’s why we have closed the loop with Terracycle to ensure none of our product components end up as part of the consumer waste culture that we set out to help tackle. You can return all elements of our product (packaging, broken Cup or silicone components) to us to be commercially recycled or re-purposed into a new Ecoffee Cup. (coming soon)

All you need to do

United Kingdom

Using minimal but suitably secure packaging, simply return the component you want to dispose of – to the following address:

FREEPOST ECOFFEE CUP

This is a free service so you do not need to add stamps or a postcode. Please use ALL CAPITALS in the address – and for broken or split cups, pack them in such a way as to prevent sharp edges from piercing or protruding from packaging.

Rest of Europe

Click here to download your FREE post-paid label.

Please email hello@ecoffeecup.com if you would like us to email you the label or post it to you.

PLEASE NOTE: We accept no liability and cannot be held responsible for damage or injury caused by improperly packed returns.

If you would like to return any component of Ecoffee Cup North America, please email renee@ecoffeecup.com

How do I prevent odours?

Cup

Unlike many PP or PET-based products, our Cup should never emit odours or retain taste. We suggest you wash the Cup thoroughly before use and avoid leaving remains of drinks inside for prolonged periods.

Lid

Our lids are made from silicone which is chemically inert substance which means that, unlike some petrochemical plastics, (PET, PP) it should never emit odour. However, it can absorb some odours. Therefore, we always recommend washing lids and sleeves in the dishwasher (top shelf, removed from Cup). Also ensure that you avoid storing or washing with metal or conventional polypropylene plastic items such as storage containers or other plastic cups.

Quick Tips to remove odours

  • Top shelf dishwasher is always best; avoid washing or storing with conventional plastic or metal items
  • Mix a paste of baking soda and spread over the inside and around the rim of the lid; leave overnight and then wash clean.
  • Store near a small dish of vanilla, lemon or other pleasant-smelling material until the unpleasant odour has disappeared.
  • Avoid heavily fragranced dishwashing tablets or liquids. We recommend Ecover, Splosh or other fragrance-free options)

How do I remove stains from my Ecoffee Cup?

Discolouration
With frequent use, especially with some teas or black coffee, Ecoffee Cup may discolour inside. This will not affect the taste profile or suitability of the product for every day use – and is not a product fault. For those who dislike the appearance, we suggest our Reusable Cup Cleaner which is effective in removing most coffee and tea stains. One sachet contains enough cleaning powder for two cleans and should last six months. It’s available here.

Lipstick can stick.
Even dishwashers can struggle to remove certain types of lipstick from our silicone lid – or the Cup rim itself. This is not a product fault. In order to prevent permanent damage to your Ecoffee Cup, we always recommend that, prior placing it in a dishwasher (or hand washing), you remove all visible lipstick from drinking hole or cup rim with a tissue, napkin or dry cloth. Replacement lids are available in our accessories section on our website.

In addition, we do not recommend Ecoffee Cup for use with the following lipstick brands:

  • Revlon® Colorstay Suede Ink Lipstick
  • Fenty® Beauty Fenty Icon Velvet Liquid Lipstick
  • MAC® Cosmetics Locked Kiss Ink
  • Huda® Beauty Lip + Cheek Stain
  • NARS® Powermatte Lip Pigment.
  • Maybelline® SuperStay Vinyl Ink Liquid Lipstick.

Why do you use individual packaging?

We keep our packaging to a minimum, however, it is vital to ensuring your Ecoffee Cup arrives unscathed. Without packaging comes breakages, and with breakages comes waste. We avoid single-use plastics, shrink wrapping, over-size boxes and unnecessary padding – and, wherever possible, re-use bubble-wrap and boxes to avoid them going to waste. We have also introduced fully recyclable paper protection wrap on all UK orders.

Does Ecoffee Cup keep my drink hot?

Ecoffee Cup is not designed as a thermos, more as a replacement for single-use to-go cups. With that in mind, with its lid closed, it will keep your drink warm for up to 40 minutes. More than enough time for your walk to work or school run.

Authenticity

We helped pioneer the use of natural fibre composite material in reusable cups in the UK and Europe. Since 2014 we have developed a forensic understanding of our material composition, provenance, production process and required global safety testing.

Since then, a number of imitation products have entered the market, with varying levels of quality and legitimacy. While some of these come from reputable production facilities, many do not. Poor quality, false and misleading claims and a lack of transparency relating to compliance with global food contact regulations, has drawn an unprecedented amount of scrutiny upon our products.

While we choose not speak for the entire industry, we do speak for ourselves. What we can say about the vast majority of products that may look vaguely like ours, whether they are made from wheat, rice husk, bamboo or other “natural” materials:

  • They can contain up to 60% melamine, even some that claim to be melamine-free. We have tested many competitor products There is nothing here that we don’t know.
  • They make misleading statements about biodegradability. For the record, there is not one reusable Cup that is biodegradable to European standards.
  • They overplay the “eco-friendliness” of their products without knowing what they actually made from.

Since late-2018, as an industry-setting standard, we removed 90% of melamine from our product (from 25% to less than 3%) This has been independently verified in Europe by Intertek UK. These tests are available upon request.

 

How to determine if you have an authentic Ecoffee Cup

Lid

Ecoffee Cup has a matte lid with stopper. embossed with the words No Excuse For Single-Use or Choose To Re-use. It should be comparatively stiff, not soft and floppy

Base

Ecoffee Cup has a pressed base or printed back stamp

Sleeve

Heavy weight, with embossed Ecoffee Cup logo in roundel

If you believe you have paid for an Ecoffee Cup but bought a fake, please email us on hello@ecoffeecup.com with details