Case study: mug library

The Northern Beaches café owners who took part in the Reusable Café Project had similar reasons for starting a mug library. Martin Arrisueno came across the concept on a trip to Byron Bay and often wondered how he could make a similar approach work for his businesses, The Pocket and Butterbox cafés.

Over at Deli on Waterloo in Narrabeen, Alessandro Ciappi, also wondered if a mug library would work and signed up to The Reusable Café Project as an experiment, to help him find out.

The library at The Pocket was established using unwanted mugs and cups donated by regular customers. Martin made boxes for clean and used library crockery from plywood he found on the side of the road.

At Butterbox, he took a novel approach, asking locals to donate any ugly cups and mugs they had at home, as a way of starting light-hearted conversations about the library and sustainability. "The uglier the cup, the better," he explained. "Because those are the ones people choose!"

Martin also promoted the mug library through social media, being careful to never post photos of single use cups. The daily conversations he and the staff had with customers about the library, plastic waste and sustainability were what made the project a success.

Alessandro placed the Deli on Waterloo mug library and signage supplied by the Reusable Café Project where customers were sure to see them, then followed up with face-to-face conversations to seal the deal. "[Most people] understand what it is and what we are trying to do – which is to reduce the plastic and make a difference."

Both business owners agreed that even though customers usually responded positively to the initiative, it took time and effort for the idea to take hold. "If you plant the seed, it’ll grow," Martin advised, "It just needs your passion behind it."

The mug libraries at all three cafés were very successful and being part of the Reusable Café project had run-on effects for each business, building brand identity and goodwill in the community. "We started this as a test, but it’s now part of who we are," Alessandro said. "It’s made the street feel warmer—we’re all doing something good together."

The initiative thrives because the concept helped nurture a tight sense of community. "Many people take the cup for takeaway but end up standing out the front of the café, talking with other customers."

Prior to the trial, 100% of take-away orders at the café were served in single-use cups. Now, the library is a fixture at the Deli on Waterloo and most local customers borrow a reusable. Many have invested in their own reusable 'keep cups', too. "Some people didn’t want to take a mug because they needed a lid, but the next time they came in they were really excited and said: 'Look! I’ve brought my own one to use this time!'"

At Butterbox and The Pocket, Martin and the team made a point of encouraging visitors to take a mug from the library when they were going for a walk to the nearby beach or lookout, and the effort paid off.  The library has been embraced by locals and visitors.

The library at The Pocket is so successful that the café sometimes run out of clean mugs on the weekends and staff offer take-away customers the use of dine-in cups instead. "On the weekend, we have mug library cups on the bench, ready to go. It’s such a joy to see no takeaway cups on your bench. We can do up to 85 [orders] on a Saturday or Sunday."

Butterbox is a hub for the Long Reef Beach community and most locals are already engaged with sustainable approaches. The café staff have been known to give away keep cups to visitors who are reluctant to use the library.

Martin hopes visitors to both businesses will get inspired and go back to their local café and say, 'Hey, this café is doing this, and it doesn’t take much. You guys should do it!'

• The Pocket’s customers use a mug from the library, on average, 180 times a week. Based on the 25c cost of a single-use cup and lid, the café saves approximately $45 a week or $2340 a year on its single-use packaging bill.
• The mug library at Butterbox saves an average of 100 cups and 100 lids from landfill every week. This reduces packaging costs by $25 a week, which adds up to $1300 a year.
• Data from the Deli on Waterloo wasn’t formally captured however the café reports 20% of take-away cups have been replaced by reusables, also reducing packaging spend.

"What businesses need to understand is that it’s a slow trickle, it’s not an instant injection of money into your pocket," Martin explained. "It’s a long-term thing. And its passion that drives it."

Still, given his mug libraries cost nothing to set up, the slow trickle definitely makes an impact. "When you add it up over a year, two years and then over three years, it’s quite a saving."