General News
12 July, 2025
Coffee cup idea on trial
A NEW pilot initiative ‘Douglas chooses to reuse – Drink it, drop it, do it again’ is being trialled at Port Douglas.
The aim is to drastically reduce the high number of plastic drink cups that ultimately end up in landfill.
In Australia, a staggering 1.84 billion single-use coffee cups are tossed out every year. Most end up in landfill or the environment.
In a region like Douglas, built on the beauty of the Reef, rainforest and community pride, it is believed the community can do better.
That’s why Port Douglas is leading the way with a simple, free and practical solution, this being a reusable cup swap system that makes it just as easy to reuse as it is to grab and go.
Douglas chooses to reuse will work by asking locals when they grab a coffee at one of the participating cafés, to ask for it in ‘the blue cup’. The blue cup is a reusable cup that is part of a community wide reusable cup swap system.
When done, people simply drop the cup into one of the blue ‘drop pods’ located around town. The cups will then be washed and sanitised at the Port Neighbourhood Centre using a commercial dishwasher and sent back out to cafes to be used again and again.
There’s no sign-up and no deposit, just simply use it, drop it and do it again.
Six local cafes are already part of the program: Origin Espresso, Little Red Kitchen, The Surfy, Nourish, Toast Sandwich Bar and Café Ziva – with more to come.
“This is a Queensland-first reuse trial and Port Douglas is at the forefront. The insights collected here will help inform reusable cup systems across the state” said program manager Kellie Lindsay.
“It’s a chance for our region to show that reuse isn’t just possible, it’s popular” she said.
A volunteer, to assist in the program, is currently being sought by the Port Douglas Neighbourhood Centre.
In the meantime the community is being asked to have their say on Douglas Shire Council’s waste reduction and recycling plan draft.
The five-year plan (2025-30) was endorsed at June 17’s ordinary council meeting, with public consultation to begin shortly.
It focuses on addressing the shire’s current resource recovery and waste management challenges and looks ahead to shape the region’s future direction in the management of waste as a resource.
Douglas Shire Council Mayor Lisa Scomazzon said it was an important document.
“Before I was elected to (the) council I had no idea about the processing of waste and the costs associated with waste reduction and recycling,” she said.
“The wheelie bin man comes each week, empties the bins and takes the waste to the transfer stations and we think that’s it.
“But that’s only the start of it all. “I hope moving forward that the federal government will continue to assist councils in providing a financial, sustainable future for waste and recycling commitments.
“I think documents like this will help us to advocate more for our local councils.”
To find out more, including locations of the drop pods, visit https://bit.ly/4lwnZEh
Read More: Douglas Shire
