The Cube Wodonga – case study

Background and purpose

The Cube Wodonga is a conference and performing arts centre supported by the City of Wodonga. It hosts up to 500 events annually, including live music, stand-up comedy, and theatre. It can also be hired for functions such as weddings, conferences, and community events. The Cube Wodonga was awarded a Circular Economy Reuse Pilots Fund grant of $16,785 by Sustainability Victoria to implement a reuse system for cups and glasses. The Cube Reusable Cup Project was launched in March 2023 to replace all single-use paper and plastic cups with reusable water cups, coffee cups and wine glasses for events and performances. The venue also installed a filtered refrigerated water bottle refill station.

The program

According to pre-pilot waste audits, The Cube Wodonga was using over 25,000 disposable cups every year. Before designing and implementing a reuse solution, The Cube Wodonga’s team consulted its key caterers, cleaners, and staff about operational requirements and to get feedback on the challenges that a reuse system might create.

After designing the project, The Cube Wodonga bought reusable cups, mugs, wine glasses, trolleys, collection stations, and signage. The team also informed their 7,000-plus members about the pilot via their mailing list and social media channels. It included promoting the project’s goal to reduce single-use plastics, telling them what the reuse alternatives would be, and explaining how the new reuse system would work.

The Impact

Over a period of 15 weeks from March to June 2023, The Cube Wodonga saved 5,839 of single-use items going to landfills. The data was collected during a slow period for events and the overall number for the year is expected to be higher than the original aim of 15,000 items.

The Cube Wodonga also discovered that having a filtered-water tap encouraged many patrons to bring their own water bottles instead of using single-use plastic bottles.

Challenges

One of the biggest challenges for The Cube Wodonga was making sure staff was properly trained and could easily implement the new reuse system. The Cube Wodonga's team developed an easy-to-use operational system so that reusable items could be cleaned and redistributed quickly during busy events. The venue had an existing onsite commercial dishwasher that allowed staff to quickly wash a large number of cups without adding significant costs.

Prior to introducing the reusables, The Cube Wodonga carried out a waste audit to collect data on single-use cups used at events which revealed a wider issue. Patrons, cleaners, and staff were putting rubbish and single-use plastics in the wrong bins. The Cube Wodonga then developed educational resources for staff, clients, and people hiring the space to minimise bin contamination.

Since the reusable cups are not used every day, storage was also a concern. The Cube Wodonga purchased stackable tubs to save space and protect the cups from dust and insects. It also used suitable trolleys for the tubs and wine cups to move them easily during large events.

For the first large event patrons were leaving reusable cups around the building. The Cube Wodonga now has staff collecting cups as a part of their shifts. It has also added more collection stations, with bright colours and signage, so they are easy to spot.

Observations and next steps

Since introducing its reuse model, The Cube Wodonga has noticed a high uptake of reusable cups during events and an increase in patrons using water stations, indicating quick and positive changes. During the pilot, The Cube Wodonga did not observe an increase in workload and could manage cleaning and operating the water, tea, and coffee stations within normal staff shifts.

By having clearly visible and labelled bins and collection stations, The Cube Wodonga reduced cross contamination between reusables and single-use items. Such system also makes it easier for patrons to dispose of their rubbish correctly.

The Cube Wodonga has made the reusables available to their external caterers and has provided assistance with cleaning and packing away cups. The initiative was well-received by caterers who now no longer have to buy disposable cups.

The Cube Wodonga has not returned to pre-pandemic patronage yet and is anticipating a significant increase over time. To cater for more patrons The Cube Wodonga is looking into getting additional volunteers to assist with the reusable cups system and to provide waste education around bin usage.

In June 2023, Sustainability Victoria hosted a webinar to showcase The Cube’s pilot project.