Credit: Eden Project
Returnable cup system is expected to eliminate around 620,000 single-use coffee cups a year across both sites
Blenheim Palace and the Eden Project have successfully introduced new returnable coffee cup systems for visitors, in a move that is estimated to eliminate around 620,000 single-use cups a year at the two popular tourist attractions.
Delivered by green tech company Re-universe, the system in place across both sites sees visitors pay a small deposit for a returnable cup when purchasing drinks.
Those cups can then be returned to reverse vending-style machines which instantly refund the deposits to users via card, while the cups themselves are then collected, washed, and reused.
As well as cutting out waste, the eradication of single use coffee cups at both attractions is also expected to save around 27 tonnes of CO2 a year, which the two sites said equated to the carbon emissions generated from heating 12 average UK homes.
Collectively, the two sites attract almost 1.8 million visitors every year.
The returnable cup system was first introduced at the Eden Project in Cornwall in March last year, where it is estimated to have eradicated around 220,000 single use cups, amounting to four tonnes of waste and a 72 per cent CO2 saving.
Becky Fenner, hospitality manager at the Eden Project, said environmental sustainability was central to the tourist attraction's ethos, and as such "it is crucial we are walking the talk and operating in as sustainable a way as we can".
"As technology improves to match our ambition, we're delighted to be working with re-universe alongside Blenheim Palace," she said. "We are excited to see how the machines both improve the overall visitor experience when returning their cups and help provide us with data and insights to better understand the engagement and impact the scheme is having."
Meanwhile, at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire - which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 - the move forms part of the stately home's wider green goals, which include a target to become 'carbon neutral' by 2027 and a plan to sequester over 200,000 tonnes of CO2 by 2050.
David Green, head of innovation at Blenheim Palace, said: "The returnable cup scheme is a major step towards our Net Zero pledge, and it's hugely gratifying to be working alongside re-universe and Eden Project in leading the way for other UK tourist destinations and retailers."
"We believe climate change is the single biggest threat to Blenheim's long-term survival and we're committed to doing all we can to reduce and mitigate its impacts and help safeguard this World Heritage Site and its resources for future generations."
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