A new, deliberately not overly pretty, reusable cup is being launched in Cayman by a company that says it’s combining a revenue-maker with an approach that may reduce the number of disposable containers ending up in the landfill.
The ONECUP will be the first reusable cup subscription service for bars, restaurants, events and hotels in Cayman, says James Dartnall, founder of Island Cup Co, which produces the cups.
A long-time volunteer in beach clean-ups and with the Department of Environment, Dartnall said he hopes the ONECUP will help cut down on the use of throwaway plastic cups.
The kernel of the idea of developing the cups began during a one-and-a-half-year trip, from London, England, to Cape Town, South Africa, with his wife, where they decided to try to see if they could live without plastic during their journey.
Later, at a concert in Washington, DC, he came across reusable cups. “I started researching the company [that made those cups] and other companies,” he said, noting that they are becoming more commonly used at large events, like music festivals and concerts.
He started to envision Cayman, with its daily influx of tourists and lively social scene, “as if every day is almost like a … very big event, and all of our hospitality vendors are operating within a small ecosystem, which they are. And then, is there a way of having a single drink cup that they all share, and they’re all responsible for?”
He says the ONECUP can replace not just single-use plastic glasses, but also reusable acrylic cups “because acrylic, they’re end-of-chain. When acrylics get cracked or milky, they get thrown away, they can’t be recycled.”
The plan for ONECUPs that come to the end of their use is to recycle them into plastic furniture. Once they get damaged or cracked and deemed unusable anymore, they would be shredded, melted and remolded into furniture, like benches, which, Dartnall hopes, the government will purchase and install as public fixtures.
How it works
The system works by a hotel, bar or restaurant subscribing to the service, renting the cups, which continue to belong to Island Cup Co. After customers use the cups, they are placed in a bin and collected by Dartnall’s company, which takes them to a washing facility to wash and dry them, and then deliver them back to the business.
Each cup can be washed up to 300 times, enough to last more than 80% of a year if used every day, before becoming degraded.
One of the company’s logos is ‘Drink, Return, Repeat’.
Dartnall says, as the business expands, he plans to launch reusable food containers and other products.
The launch comes as lawmakers have recently discussed moves to cut down on single-use plastics in Cayman. The issue arose during parliamentary questions in the House on 23 June.
At Sunset House’s hotel, bar and restaurant, the ONECUPs are already in use for the tourists, divers and locals who spend their time there.
Annie Briggs, general manager at Sunset House, said, “Sunset House is proud to replace single-use plastic cups with Island Cup Co’s ONECUP system. As a business closely connected to Cayman’s marine environment, reducing plastic waste is a responsibility we take seriously.
“It’s a simple change that helps keep our beaches and reefs cleaner while supporting a more sustainable Cayman.”
‘Slightly ugly’ to prevent thefts
Dartnall said that coming up with a design for the cup had been a bit of a challenge, as “it can’t look that nice; it’s got to be slightly ugly, so that people don’t want to take it home”.
The texture, weight and structure of the cup also had to be considered, for the same reason. “It can’t be too expensive; it also can’t be cheap enough to feel like it might be trash, because the cups being thrown into the bin and the cups being taken home are the two issues with the system. They’re the two things that will stop the system from working long term.”
Currently, the company has two products, the ONECUP, which is being used by Sunset House and Red Sail and being officially launched on Friday; and the ONECUP Premium, which will be unveiled in about six weeks.
With the premium versions, a business can choose their own design. Dartnell says his company has just signed a contract with the Westin on Grand Cayman to become the first hotel to use the cups.
In the case of people taking home the branded premium cups, he says he expects it would be mostly visitors, who want to keep a free souvenir of their stay, meaning the cups would be taken off island, and not dumped locally, and that those would also effectively be a marketing tool.
Dartnall says he is in “advanced talks” with a number of other bars and restaurants on island, and is also hoping to involve Cayman Airways.
The cups are being officially launched at an event at Sunset House in South Church Street on Friday afternoon, 25 June, from 4pm.
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