Cercle Melbourne – case study

Background and purpose

Cercle’s mission is to create the hassle-free reusable coffee cup of the future. Its stainless-steel cups are durable, stackable, easy to clean, and double-walled, so drinks stay hotter for longer.

Following the successful implementation of its reuse system in several office buildings, the company was awarded $50,000 from Sustainability Victoria under the Circular Economy Reuse Pilots Fund to trial the service at the Olderfleet office building in Melbourne’s CBD.

The Cercle team, with partners Mirvac and Consolidated Property Services (Aust) Pty Ltd, set out to reduce disposable coffee cup waste from retailers in the building by 70%*, diverting 60,000 single-use items from landfill per year.

The program

The Olderfleet building at 477 Collins Street in Melbourne CBD was chosen for the pilot because of its large occupancy, bustling coffee scene, and support for transitioning to a reusable system. The pilot ran for 3 months in 2023 and worked with 16 tenants and 3 independent cafes. Engaging with key stakeholders early, such as cleaners and in-house hospitality venues, was vital. It helped to understand their requirements and to ensure that enough people would take part in the program to shift user behaviour from single use to reusables.

A pre-pilot audit found that 176,000 disposable cups were going into the building’s waste stream each year, with 60% from in-house cafés. After speaking with tenants, cafés, and cleaners, 1,000 stainless steel Cercle cups were deployed to retailers along with 43 ‘drop pods’ for returning the cups, and 3 trollies. Washing facilities were set up, including a commercial dishwasher, shelving, and storage boxes. Marketing included tenant awareness sessions, and physical and digital signage for consumers.

The impact

The system was well received, with customers commenting on its convenience – “Imagine you get a takeaway coffee from your building’s café, and it’s delivered in a beautiful reusable cup. You drink your coffee at your desk, and then drop it in a pod in the kitchen. The cleaners collect it, wash it, and deliver it back to the café. And repeat. So simple," says Jane Grant, Director, Consolidated Property Services (Aust) Pty Ltd.

Customers also felt empowered to make a more sustainable choice:

At the end of the pilot more than 10,000 single-use coffee cups (123 kg) were diverted from landfill. This number is expected to increase to an estimated 60,000 cups diverted each year as the service expands.

Challenges

Over time, Cercle refined its operations to ensure collecting, washing, and returning cups is as streamlined as possible. Drop pods and custom trolleys help to centralise collection points and training cleaning staff has ensured that cups are cleaned and returned effectively.

Engaging time-poor hospitality businesses in a new initiative is often a challenge. Reusable systems need to have a clear benefit to them, be easy to implement and explain, and must not slow down day-to-day operations.

During the pilot it was clear café staff did not have time to explain the Cercle system at point of sale, meaning successful uptake relied on the communications material throughout the building. Having a dedicated representative onsite during the initial launch and implementation would mean clearer information for customers and increased participation.

The silicone Cercle coffee cup lids proved challenging to clean and highlighted the need for durable, reusable products that can withstand frequent washing and reuse.

The communications material wasn’t consistent across all the building’s tenancies, resulting in a slower than expected uptake of the program from a key tenant. In the future, communications materials will be consistent, and tenancies with low uptake will be a focus.

Observations and next steps

The program will continue to check in with tenancies and cleaners each week. A survey will also be sent to tenants for feedback.

There are plans to expand to include more cafes and trial the introduction of reusable food containers. Now that the washing station is in place, there’s an opportunity to extend the service to nearby buildings. It’s projected the planned expansion could divert 100,000 items from landfill each year.

*Figures based on a reduction of 70% in single-use coffee cups from retailers, which makes up approximately 60% of the overall single-use coffee cups ending up in the building’s waste stream.