Deposit schemes for reusable cups: what real venues report

A deposit scheme is the part of a reusable cup programme that decides whether it works. Get the mechanics right and cups come back. Get them wrong and you have bought inventory that walks out of the gate once.

The models in use

Zero Waste Scotland describes reusable cup schemes as borrowing systems rather than sales, and sets out several ways to run one: free borrowing with a return requirement, a deposit refunded on return, an app that charges when a cup is not returned, and app-based deposits with refunds handled digitally. Schemes are run in house by the venue or handed to a third party.

The point of the deposit is often misread. Zero Waste Scotland puts it plainly: "The cost of the deposit is designed to cover the cost of the cup, allowing for non-returned cups to be replaced." A deposit is not a penalty, and it is not margin. It is the replacement fund.

What venues have reported

Murrayfield Stadium runs a deposit on the first drink. Supporters keep the cup as a souvenir or return it at a refund point to get the deposit back. Kings Theatre in Edinburgh runs a comparable scheme.

The OVO Hydro announced reusable cups at live events in March 2022, starting with a returnable deposit and later moving to a free service where customers borrow and return without paying one. That direction of travel is worth noting: a venue with the throughput to test both settled on removing the deposit.

The Highland Cup Movement reported in 2023 that over 1,000 reusable cups had been checked out with a 92% return rate, alongside a 27% increase in customers bringing their own cup.

Outside events, the same mechanics show up in venues. NHS Scotland's University Hospital Crosshouse reported reusable cup usage rising from 1% to 43%, cutting coffee cup consumption by 157 a day, with hot drink sales up 10% across the trial. Portobello and Joppa reported a reduction in disposable cup use of more than 95%.

The scale behind it

Zero Waste Scotland puts Scottish consumption at roughly 388.7 million single-use beverage cups a year, and reports that 77% of people in Scotland are concerned by the amount of single-use packaging in daily life.

Those two numbers explain why venues keep testing this. The volume is large enough that a percentage point of switching is material, and the audience is receptive enough that a scheme does not have to fight the crowd.

Reading the numbers honestly

A 92% return rate is one scheme's result, at one scale, with its own refund points and staffing. It is a reference point rather than a forecast for your event.

What transfers between schemes is the structure: a deposit sized to replace the cup, refund points people can find without queueing twice, and a decision made in advance about whether you would rather have the cup back or have it leave with your brand on it. Some venues have concluded that the souvenir is worth more than the cup.

If you are costing a scheme, the deposit programme page covers how it runs on site, cup hire covers the washing and logistics side, and you can put your volumes into a quote to see the cup cost against them.