Frequently Asked Questions
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The Petaluma Reusable Cup Project is a bold initiative to see how the City of Petaluma could move away from single-use cups and toward a reuse system that is better for the planet.
The project will trial a system designed to reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills by replacing single-use cups with free, reusable cups. Dozens of local businesses and national chains in Petaluma are involved and will serve drinks in these reusable cups while the project is live.
Whenever people purchase beverages at participating locations, they will be invited to return their empty reusable cups at any participating location or at return bins located throughout Petaluma. Returned cups will be professionally washed and sanitized before being put back to work for the duration of the project.
The Reusable Cup Project is an initiative funded by the NextGen Consortium and runs in partnership with the City of Petaluma and local businesses.
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Anytime you are served a beverage in a purple reusable cup, please drop it in a return bin when you’re done. Every reusable cup returned means one less disposable cup will end up as landfill waste.
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Petaluma is an ideal community to explore solutions that can reduce single-use packaging waste. There has been interest from residents in trialing new systems, and the city government is already actively engaged in sustainability efforts. Petaluma also covers a diverse geographical footprint, including a walkable downtown, mixed use suburban neighborhoods and rural landscapes. This helps explore how reuse systems might work in other communities, with Petaluma leading the way.
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The following businesses in Petaluma are participating:
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A reusable cup is designed to be used many times. Reusing a product is one of the best ways to reduce waste because it keeps a material in circulation in its original form for multiple cycles. A recyclable cup is typically designed to be used once and then it is processed in a recycling facility for it to be made something else. By keeping cups and the cup materials in circulation for longer, reuse and recycling help reduce waste.
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If you are ordering a beverage from a location that is already welcoming customers’ cups from home, this remains unchanged.
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The project will run as a trial from August to October 2024.
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The Petaluma Reusable Cup Project is in trial phase during 2024. Learnings from this test will be critical to help Petaluma, cities across the country and businesses design better systems to reduce single-use packaging waste. After the trial period, the Consortium will analyze and publish the results to inform the scaleup of reuse systems in Petaluma, in Sonoma County, and beyond.
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The NextGen Consortium is a multi-year, multi-brand collaboration that addresses single-use food service packaging waste by advancing the design, commercialization and recovery of packaging alternatives. More details at: closedlooppartners.com/nextgen.
Questions About the Project
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Simply drop your cup in one of over 60 bins located across Petaluma. You can find your nearest bin here.
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Return bins are located at participating businesses as well as in public spaces across Petaluma. For a map of return bin locations, visit our homepage.
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All returned cups go through our processing facility where they are professionally washed and sanitized following all local laws. Once clean, the cups are carefully inspected before being packed and returned to the store for reuse. Anything that is not fit for reuse will be immediately taken out of the system and sent to our recycling partner.
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It’s not required! When you drop the cup in any return bin, it will be collected and taken to a central location to be professionally washed and sanitized.
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It’s not required but you are welcome to! When returned cups are brought back to a central location for cleaning, they will be sorted and any lids, straws or debris will be removed before the cups are professionally washed and then sanitized.
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If you won’t be back in Petaluma soon but are in the surrounding areas, please request a cup pickup on the homepage and we’ll be in touch.
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Please return it! There’s no charge to use the cup and it’s designed for takeout. When you have finished using it, please drop it in any purple return bin. This little action makes a huge difference: it means one less single-use cup in circulation — and it means the cup will be washed, sanitized then put back to use.
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Petaluma Food Taxi drivers are kindly supporting the project by returning used cups. When you order for delivery, you can hand your used purple cups to the driver, who will ensure it is returned to be washed, sanitized, and put back to work.
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DST will be helping the project by collecting any cups they find that have not been placed in return bins. To maintain food safety and protect the integrity of the reuse project, any cups collected from the street will not be added to return bins — but they will be recycled locally to reduce waste.
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Customers who requested cup pickup(s) and wish to have their contact information deleted from our system can ask for this by emailing info@returnmycup.com.
Returning the Cups
About the Cups
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The cups are made of two types of BPA-free plastic that are commonly used for food and beverage.
Polypropylene (PP) cups will be used for hot drinks and at many locations serving iced or cold drinks. PP is the same plastic used for takeout containers, lunchboxes and yogurt pots.
At some locations with soda fountains or iced beverages, cups made from HDPE will be used. HDPE is often used for milk jugs, sodas, and food storage boxes.
Both of these plastics are ideal because they are durable enough to be reused many times and, as soon as the cup shows signs of wear, they are fully recyclable here in Sonoma County.
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Traditional disposable cups are usually made of paper with a plastic lining, which often end up as landfill waste. The NextGen Consortium is working to improve the recyclability of single-use cups while also testing models to reduce the overall volume of single-use cups that go to waste. Reusable plastic cups can be washed and sanitized, just like the silverware at a restaurant or glassware at a bar. This keeps cups in circulation for many uses and means fewer natural resources are used to produce new cups. Plastic cups are also lighter and easier to transport than metal, ceramic and glass cups, reducing the number of trucks needed to collect and redistribute the cups.
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No — the cups are BPA-free. The polypropylene (PP) cups used for hot beverages are food-safety-approved to hold liquids up to 212 Fahrenheit at the moment of filling. Please exercise caution when carrying any hot beverage.
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The cups are rigorously tested to be used over 100 times. In practice, the average cup may be used about once per week — it takes approximately a week for a cup to be returned, sorted, professionally washed and sanitized, then packed up for delivery to a participating business.
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Yes, the polypropylene (PP) cups used for hot beverages and are food-safety approved to hold liquids up to 212 Fahrenheit at the moment of filling. Please exercise caution when carrying any hot beverage.
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Stainless steel is a good material choice for cups that people wash at home and keep for many years. However, these cups require more material and energy to produce, meaning they need to be in circulation for a long time to create an environmental benefit.
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Due to the limited market availability of food-grade recycled plastics, the cups will not have recycled content for this project. However, the purple indoor return bins for this project are made with 95% post-consumer pure rHDPE from recycled milk jugs. Also, the reusable cups that are no longer fit for reuse will be recycled locally.
The NextGen Consortium is actively working towards a goal for better availability of food-grade recycled content through strategic investments, community engagement and innovative research.
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The side of the hot cups is more insulating than a paper cup, meaning a sleeve is not needed. Please note that the base and lip of the cup may be hot, please use caution when carrying hot liquids.
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Strarbucks reusable cups include fill line markings, which help baristas create specific Starbucks recipes. Like most reusable cups being served at other participating locations, the Starbucks cups are made from BPA-free polypropylene (PP). The cups are also designed for both hot and cold drinks.
The back of the Starbucks cups is purple and matches the return bins found all over Petaluma during this project. If you are served a Starbucks beverage a reusable cup at a participating Starbucks or licensed Starbucks café, you can return it at any purple return bin in Petaluma.
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When cups are retired from service, we send them to Recology in Santa Rosa, where they are recycled with other household and commercial plastic items.
