Vancouver’s largest health food and supplement store is launching a new grab-and-go cup. The sustainable cup is designed to reduce Body Energy Club’s environmental impact as it joins the movement toward zero-waste.
Enter Sharewares. A Vancouver neighbour, this local startup helps businesses follow the City’s new Single-Use Reduction Strategy, which includes drastically reducing the 440 million disposable cups and takeout containers that hit the landfill each year.
In 2018, 1.1 billion single-use items were thrown away into Metro Vancouver’s landfills “and this has only been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to Sharewares. “Many of these items end up leaching toxins, chemicals, and micro-plastics into our environment.”
BEC soft-launched a reusable cup program on Earth Day 2022.
“From recycling programs to reusable cups, our goal is to introduce ways for every member of our community to participate, regardless of how they shop with us,” says BEC Founder and CEO Dominick Tousignant.
BEC invites its customers to join the reusable movements, which it considers a “crucial step in supporting a circular, zero-waste economy that supports the well-being of Vancouver while walking the talk among Canadian food retailers.”
Instead of paying the $0.25 cent City-imposed cup fee, BEC customers can borrow a reusable cup for a $3 deposit and enjoy a waste-free drink.
How does it all work? After borrowing a reusable cup from BEC or other Shareware partner, you can create an account with Sharewares by scanning a QR code on the cup. With an account set up, you can drop the cup off at a variety of return options when you’re finished drinking.
From there, Sharewares does all the work: “We’ll pick up, wash, inspect, scan, and refund you through an e-transfer.”
“These freshly cleaned containers will then be redelivered to your favourite cafés and restaurants to be enjoyed again and again,” the company explains.
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