FAQ
Each year over 300 billion single-use coffee cups are manufactured globally. Due to their plastic content, less than 2% will ever be recycled. As takeaway drink consumption grows, so does the problem of waste. Recycling is not the solution, nor are so-called compostable single-use cups The only way to make meaningful change is for all of us to form new consumption habits.
The metric is quite simple: each time you choose to re-use, even just once a week, you will be helping in the fight against single-use waste. Imagine the massive difference we could make if everyone did the same. If 2 million people chose to re-use just once a week, we would stop 104,000,000 single-use cups going to landfill each year. Follow us @ecoffeecup.official and share your #choosetoreuse journey.
Incentives for bringing your own cup are increasingly common across Europe. With up to 50c discount each time you choose to re-use, means that with as few as 25 re-uses, you could have paid for your Ecoffee Cup.
Regular Ecoffee Cup
Since June 2022, all Ecoffee Cup® sold in EU are made with 100% PLA, a bio-polymer made from 100% plants (sugarbeet or sugarcane).It is a permitted Food Contact Material under LFGB legislation (EC) No. 10/ 2011 No.99. Ecoffee Cup® contains 0% melamine, BPA or BPS. In accordance with changes to some EU member state regulations, products sold in the EU no longer contain bamboo fibre or corn stalk.
Please read our statement about recent regulatory changes
Hot / Cold Vacuum
Our HCV products are made with grade 18/8 (Type 304) stainless steel which is the most common type for use in food preparation and storage. It is well known for its antibacterial and hygienic properties.
Lids & Sleeves
Our lids and sleeves are made from food grade silicone, using oxygen and silica (sand) as their base material. They are suitable for high temperature usage up to +120˚C and are BPA and BPS-free. They are NOT MADE WITH NATURAL LATEX RUBBER.
While silicone cannot be recycled in domestic recycling, our Terracycle closed loop commercial recycling scheme ensures we can reclaim, shred and down cycle them. Please email hello@ecoffeecup.com if you require any further information on returning silicone components free of charge.
Maximum: +100˚C / 212˚F
Microwave should be used for reheat only at a maximum 800W for no longer than 40 second intervals. Remove lid but attach silicone sleeve prior to microwave use. Caution: Cup will be hot upon removal from microwave. DO NOT EXCEED THESE GUIDELINES.
Our Hot/ Cold vacuum products are not suitable for microwave use.
All of our products are tested regularly by independent test houses, Intertek and TÜV Rheinland, to comply with EU (LFGB) Food Contact regulations (EC) No. 1935/2004, (EC) No.10/2011 and subsequent (EC) No. 2020/ 1245.
We also test over-and-above the regulations to ensure Ecoffee Cup is suitable for regular usage at +100˚C. Ecoffee Cup® also complies with US FDA and Japan Food Contact regulations. We are happy to share these results with our customers upon request. Please email hello@ecoffeecup.com if you require any further information.
Our mission has always been to provide beautiful, practical and affordable products that make a significant contribution towards the reduction of single-use items ending up in waste streams and landfill. Since we started in 2014, our customers have prevented more than 100 million single-use cups from entering the waste stream and subsequent landfill.
In order to make a claim of biodegradability and comply with EU standard EN 13432, a product must biodegrade 90% within 6 months. For consumer durable products such as Ecoffee Cup, this is simply not achievable. Despite what some of our less-than-transparent competitors may claim, without exception, there is no re-usable Cup on the market that currently meets this standard.
Cup
Unlike many PP or PET-based products, Ecoffee Cup should never emit odours or retain taste. We suggest you wash the Cup thoroughly before each use and avoid leaving remains of drinks inside for prolonged periods.
Lid
Our lids are made from silicone which is a chemically inert substance which means that, unlike some petrochemical plastics, (PET, PP) it should never emit odour. However, it can absorb some odours. Therefore, we always recommend washing lids and sleeves in the dishwasher (top shelf, removed from Cup). Also ensure that you avoid storing or washing with metal or conventional polypropylene plastic items such as storage containers or other plastic cups.
Tips for removing odours
- Top shelf dishwasher is always best; avoid washing or storing with conventional plastic or metal items.
- Mix a paste of baking soda and spread over the inside and around the rim of the lid; leave overnight and then wash clean.
- Store near a small dish of vanilla, lemon or other pleasant-smelling material until the odour has disappeared.
- Avoid heavily fragranced dishwashing tablets or liquids. We recommend Ecover, Splosh, or other fragrance-free options.
With frequent use Ecoffee Cup may discolour inside. Although this will not affect the taste profile of the Cup, some people do not like the appearance. Our natural stain remover is effective in removing most coffee and tea stains. One sachet contains enough powder for two cleans – giving up to 12 months clean.
We keep our packaging to a minimum, however individual boxes are vital to ensuring your Ecoffee Cup arrives clean and unscathed. Without packaging comes breakages and with breakages comes waste. We avoid single-use plastics, shrink wrapping, over-sized boxes and unnecessary padding – and wherever possible re-use bubble-wrap and boxes to avoid them going to waste. We have also introduced fully recyclable paper protective wrap in all EU orders.
Yes, individual Cups, lids, and sleeves are all available. Please email hello@ecoffeecup.com
Individual replacement parts (cup, lid, sleeve and stopper) are available to extend the life of your Ecoffee Cup. However, if you wish to return any component to us, you can do so free of charge. We believe in taking responsibility for everything we create, that’s why we have closed the loop to ensure none of our product components should end up as part of the consumer waster culture that we set out to help tackle. You can return all elements of our product (packaging, broken Cup or silicone) to us to be commercially upcycled, downcycled or re-purposed.
Within the EU simply click here to download your FREE post-paid label.
Please email webcare@ecoffeecup.com if you would like us to email you the label.PLEASE NOTE: We accept no liability and cannot be held responsible for damage or injury caused by improperly packed returns.
Our regular Ecoffee Cup is not designed as a thermos, more as a replacement for single-use to-go cups. With that in mind, with its lid closed, it will keep your drink warm for up to 40 minutes. More than enough time for your walk to work or school run.
Our Hot/ Cold Vacuum products are perfect for hot drinks on the go, keeping them hot for up to 12 hours, cold for up to 24 hours.
We helped pioneer the use of natural fibre composite material in reusable cups in the UK and Europe. Since 2014 we have developed a forensic understanding of our material composition, provenance, production process and required global safety testing.
Since then, a number of imitation products have entered the market, with varying levels of quality and legitimacy. While some of these come from reputable production facilities, many do not. Poor quality, false, and misleading claims and a lack of transparency relation to compliance with global food contact regulations, has drawn an unprecedented amount of scrutiny upon our products.
While we choose not to speak for the entire industry, we do speak for ourselves. What we can say about the vast majority of products that may look vaguely like ours, whether they are made from wheat, rice husk, bamboo, or other “natural” materials:
- They can contain up to 60% melamine.
- They make misleading statements about biodegradability. (For the record, there is not one reusable Cup that is biodegradable to European standards.)
- They overplay the “eco-friendliness” of their products without knowing what they are actually made from.
Since late-2018, as an industry-setting standard, we removed 90% of melamine from our product (from 25% to less than 3%). This has been independently verified in Europe by Intertek UK.
In accordance with the changes in European FCM guidelines in 2021 we have removed bamboo from our products.
How to determine if you have an authentic Ecoffee Cup
Lid
Ecoffee Cup has a matte lid with stopper, embossed with the words No Excuse for Single-Use or Choose to Re-use. It should be comparatively stiff, not soft and floppy.
Base
Ecoffee Cup has a pressed base or printed back stamp.
Sleeve
Heavy weight, with embossed Ecoffee Cup logo in roundel. If you believe you have paid for an Ecoffee Cup but bought a fake, please email us on hello@ecoffeecup.com with details.