Adelaide cafés that reward your eco-friendly coffee habit

Thanks to the ABC’s hugely popular War on Waste television program, it’s now no secret that disposable coffee cups contribute to a huge amount of landfill in Australia.

Just about every takeaway coffee cup has a plastic lining that will outlive the average person.

One million coffee cups end up in landfill every minute, creating a staggering amount of waste that simply doesn’t break down, contaminates recycling, and creates a major pollution hazard that can be swallowed by fish and other marine creatures.

The War on Waste has opened up the nation’s eyes to this ongoing waste problem. It’s challenging cafés and takeaway coffee drinkers to change their ways, and inspiring a number of cafés to make a difference by offering discounts to people who bring their own cups instead of using the disposable variety.

Good news for city slickers

The City of Adelaide is experimenting with a pilot where a handful of cafés in the city get an incentive if they either switch to using compostable cups or provide customers with a discount for bringing their own cup.

Here’s a list of participating cafés:

Bean Bar – 26 Flinders Street

Mondo Espresso Bar – 25 Grenfell Street

BTS Café – 33a Pirie Street

Cibo Espresso – 82 King William Street

Favourite Fillings Lunch Bar – 111 Gawler Place

Grass Roots – 30 Pirie Street

L’Angolo Italiano Café – 2/39 Grenfell Street

Le Souk – 99 Gawler Place

Taste on Pirie – 50 Pirie Street

Treasury 1860 – 144 King William Street

Turi Bar E Caffe – 3/25 Grenfell Street

Taking action on everyday things like reducing waste will bring Adelaide one step closer to becoming a carbon neutral city.

Wait, there’s more…

There’s also a heap of CBD cafés offering discounts outside of the pilot zone. Check out this list – which includes some suggestions from our lovely readers – or visit responsible cafés to find out who else is on board:

Jack Greens – 36 Waymouth St
40 cents off any size coffee

Goodies and Grains – Shop 21/22 Central Market Plaza Gouger Street
50 cents off any size coffee

Elementary Coffee – 9-17 Young Street
80 cents off for a large coffee
50 cents off for a regular size

Depot Café – 111 Franklin Street
Use a reusable cup and get your 10^th coffee free

Café Troppo – 42 Whitmore Square
Use a reusable cup and get your 10^th coffee free

Modka Café – Station Arcade
Between 20c and 50c off depending on the drink size

Further afield…

Don’t despair if you don’t venture into the city very often, maybe your local café offers something similar? Like down at the bay, where as part of the City of Holdfast Bay’s Eco Shopper program a selection of cafés in Glenelg and Brighton offer discounts for using reusable cups.

It pays to ask.

Hate plastic?

‘I’d love to get on board, but I think reusable cups taste like plastic.’ This is something we’ve heard from a few people in the office, but never fear, there are plenty of alternatives for coffee connoisseurs. You can take an old-fashioned ceramic mug to a participating café and it still counts, or why not consider a glass reusable cup?

Know of any other cafés that offer discounts or incentives for reusable cups? Tell us in the comments below.

*Discounts correct at time of publishing

This story was originally posted in February 2017.