PORT’s café culture is about to get an extra shot, and this time it’s going green.

COVID-19 put many things on hold.

One of them was the use of “keeper” coffee cups at cafes.

Advertise with News of The Area today.
It’s worth it for your business.
Message us.
Phone us – (02) 4981 8882.
Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au

The risk of COVID-19 transmission and the inability for cafes to effectively maintain a chain of asepsis saw the environmental movement of “keeper cups” fail as they could not be a part of a businesses COVID Safe plan.

March 10 will see the official launch of Green Caffeine in Port Stephens.

Green Caffeine is a “keeper cup” program with a real difference.

No longer is the onus of cleanliness of the cup on the cups owners, but rather cafes will clean the reusable Green Caffeine cups.

Green Caffeine is simple to take part in.

Renee Collocott, Green Caffeine Ambassador told News Of The Area, “Start by downloading the app.

“Find a Green Caffeine café near you and scan the QR code at the café and collect your cup.”

Renee has been using the cups in her family’s café based in Forster for around 10 months.

It has proved a real win win.

The café has reduced the use of disposable cups and reduced costs, and landfill has been reduced.

During COVID-19 café regulars were pre-ordering their coffee through the app and collecting in a Green Caffeine fast lane at the café.

For those using Green Caffeine the service is free.

You simply order your cup of coffee, scan the app and collect your coffee.

Next time you grab a cup of coffee at a Green Caffeine café, you return the cup and get a new one.

Cafes simply put the green caffeine cups through their dishwashers and they can then be reused just like a non takeaway coffee cup.

Take-away coffee cups are difficult to recycle.

They are lined with plastic which means that they don’t simply decompose.

The Little Pantry at Medowie has been participating in Green Caffeine for around six months and more cafes are set to join the movement in Port Stephens.

This will see Green Caffeine available from the NSW South Coast consistently through to Coffs Harbour.

There are Green Caffeine cafes across Australia with some in remote areas who are also passionate about the amount of waste that goes into landfill such as Thursday Island.

The team at Plastic Free Port Stephens have welcomed the Green Caffeine movement to Port Stephens and hope that it will make a positive impact on waste.

Green Caffeine is a joint program with the Hunter Joint Organisation and other member councils, which is partially funded by EPA Waste Less Recycle More Program.

Port Stephens Council are proud to support cafes who choose to take up this free reusable café cup system to help reduce the amount of waste going to landfill in Port Stephens.

Renee also shared this tip for the use of Green Caffeine cups, “I use them for my 20 month old child, we share a banana smoothie in two of the cups and they are perfect for saving on spills,” she said.

The Green Caffeine App tracks the number of cups you save from landfill and the total number of cups saved by everyone who participates in the exchange.

Port Stephens residents can download the app now and be ready to start supporting the environment at their favorite cafes as the new Port Stephens branded Green Caffeine cups are launched.

By Marian SAMPSON