Germany Experiments With Reusable To-Go Coffee Cups

Hamburg is serious about cutting its caffeine-related waste: Earlier this year it banned environmentally disastrous coffee pods from government buildings, and now it has pioneered a system for reusable to-go coffee cups that don’t end up in the trash after just one short use.

It works like this: customers pay €1.50 (about $1.63) to obtain a black “Refill It!” cup made from biodegradable, plant-based lignin. They fill it up with the beverage of their choice at one of 11 cafes participating in the program. When it’s empty, they can fill it up again or return it to any shop in the network, where it gets rinsed — and where they get their money back. If you’re squeamish, there’s an option to buy your own fitted lid, so you don’t have to worry about where the rim of the shared mug has been.