Coffee cups
Disposable coffee cups are not recyclable at University of Melbourne campuses, so put yours in the red landfill bin. This is because they contain a plastic inner layer which is too difficult to separate from the paper cup during the recycling process.
It is estimated Australians use 1 billion disposable coffee cups each year. That's approximately 2,700,000 paper coffee cups thrown out every day!
Go Green – The greenest choice is to bring along your own reusable cup. Some outlets offer a discount for bringing your own reusable cup. Bringing your own cup could save you around 50c on your coffee!
Make the change to reuseable cups
Swap Cup
Addressing the problem with disposable coffee cups on campus, local café owner, Mirko Angele has partnered with UoM students to launch the pilot of a new scheme on Parkville campus - Swap Cup.
Benefits:
- Reduce your waste to landfill
- Discount off every drink purchased in your Swap Cup
- Clean cup, every time
- Token easily clips onto your bag/keys
- Don't have to worry about carrying your own cup
- BPA-free
- Cup retains heat for up to three hours
Visit their website, Facebook or Instagram for more information.
Read more about swap cup
If you're interested in joining the Swap Cup scheme, you can purchase one for $18 from either Baretto's Cafe (Alan Gilbert Building) or Porta Via Cafe (Melbourne Law School).
Keep Cup
Over a year, use of a KeepCup reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 92% compared to disposable cups.
The KeepCup brand of reusable coffee cups is our preferred choice:
- Compared to ceramic mugs, KeepCups take less energy to produce and are light weight and durable so can be easily carried around with you.
- The cups are designed and manufactured in Australia so are supporting local industry and have lower carbon miles.
- If you own a plastic keep cup, the cup can be recycled at the end of its life.
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Staff order for UoM Keep Cups
University of Melbourne staff can order a UniMelb branded glass KeepCup, reusable drink bottle or plain reusable straw through the Sustainability Team at a discounted price. We are passing on the savings to you + free delivery! (T&Cs apply).
How to secure these items as a UniMelb staff member:
- Complete our order form here
- A member of our team will then email you within 3-5 working to to confirm you order
- Orders will be processed once payment details have been confirmed
Students
Unfortunately, we do not currently sell UniMelb branded drink bottles, KeepCups or reusable straws to students. This is something that we are exploring and can hopefully offer in the future.
Items available
Product Photo UoM reusable drink bottle 
Reusable metal straw 
UoM KeepCup with UoM blue lid 
UoM KeepCup with green lid 
UoM KeepCup with grey lid 
UoM KeepCup with pink lid 
UoM KeepCup with aqua lid 
Specifications
Product
Details
Material
Size
Price
KeepCup
University of Melbourne branded KeepCup. Available in standard University of Melbourne colour or in a variety of colour ways.
Glass (non toxic tritan, BPA and BPS free)
12oz (340mL)
$14
(RRP $24)Water bottle
University of Melbourne branded water bottle. Not intended for hot liquids
Glass (BPA free), dishwasher safe
600mL
(67 x 229mm)$8.5 (
RRP $30)Straw
Plan straw. Minimum order of 10.
Metal
$1
Terms and Conditions
- A THEMIS code is required to process payment for staff orders
- Free delivery is only available for a University of Melbourne campus delivery address
- A minimum of 5 working days from order confirmation is required for process and delivery.
- Download instructions on proper disposal and general sustainability information.
Another Australian alternative is Frank Green. Some come with in built technology to pay via the cup itself! Frank Green is 100% designed and manufactured in Melbourne.
Coffee pods
Melbourne is the home of good coffee in Australia. So why are you still throwing away coffee pods? Make the greenest choice and take your own cup to a café, or purchase a coffee machine where beans are used in bulk.
The problem with pods
Australians consume around 3 million single-serve coffee pods every single day and they are too small to be sorted correctly in the current recycling system. Millions of kilograms of aluminium and plastic have ended up in landfills since coffee pods came onto the market. Aluminium’s production is energy-intensive, and thus the material should be reused or recycled whenever possible.
Some eco-friendly alternatives to single use pods if you have a Nespresso® machine are the reuseable capsules manufactured by WayCap, Bluecup and SealPod. These and other sustainable coffee machine accessories can be found at Crema Joe.
Still hooked on pods?
If you already have a machine that uses pods, then recycle coffee pods rather than throwing them in the waste. You can recycle pods at:
- The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences has organised for a Nespresso bulk recycling/collection bin in the kitchen on Level 2 Alan Gilbert Building (location map).
- Pod collection by a company called TerraCycle, whose mission is to divert hard-to-recycle waste from landfills.
- Nespresso also sells pre-paid Australia Post satchels consumers can send back to the company for recycling, with up to 130 capsules at a time.
Nespresso pod bin location
Level 2, Alan Gilbert
Enter level two reception from the lift foyer and follow the right hand corridor around to the kitchen (as marked on the map shown).
The Nespresso recycling box is located near the yellow recycling bins and is clearly marked.
Please do not ring the bell in reception
Fair trade
The University supports and promotes fair trade products on campus as highlighted by University Chancellery Executive approving a move to 100% Fairtrade kitchen consumables