Berkeley to launch reusable cup loan service pilot program

The city of Berkeley will launch a reusable cup loan service later this year to reduce foodware waste, the Berkeley-based non-profit the Ecology Center announced.

Select businesses on the University of California at Berkeley campus and in the Telegraph Avenue area in South Berkeley will partner with Vessel, a reusable to-go cup service based in Boulder, Colorado, starting in mid-September, according to the Ecology Center.

Vessel provides stainless steel cups with silicone lids to participating customers through an online app in a system that resembles bike sharing and library book loaning.

Customers check out Vessel cups by scanning a code on the cup with their phone’s camera. When they are done, they can return the cup to any participating business within five days or else face a fine. The dirty cups are then picked up by Vessel via a bicycle pedicab, washed, and returned to cafes and restaurants for reuse, according to the Ecology Center.

The pilot program follows the Single-Use Disposable Foodware and Litter Reduction Ordinance, which was recently passed in the city. The first phase of the ordinance, which went into effect in March, limits the kinds of disposable foodware items that businesses can provide.

The second phase, effective Jan. 1, 2020, requires vendors to supply exclusively compostable items and to charge a 25-cent fee for each disposable cup they provide, according to the city.

In a news release, Councilwoman Sophie Hahn said:

“Bringing back reusables is our ultimate goal.”

Hahn continued:

“They worked for millennia, and I am confident we can make them work again. This reuse pilot will allow us to explore new approaches to adapt reusables to current expectations for convenience, reduce waste and litter, and help our small businesses offer products that are attractive and convenient for customers.”

Funding for the program was provided by the UC Berkeley’s Chancellor’s Community Partnership Fund Award. Plastics Solutions Fund and StopWaste provided additional funding, according to the Ecology Center.