No single-use cups. Not one.
We stopped using single-use disposable cups in our shops in March 2022. Instead, takeaway coffee comes in a reusable Monmouth loan cup, your own cup, or — if you're staying — ceramic.
Three ways to take coffee away.
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Bring your own
Bring any reusable cup and we'll make your coffee in it — no discount, but no deposit either.
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Borrow a loan cup
Pay a £5 deposit for a Monmouth loan cup with lid, band and stopper. Return it — clean or not — any time, to any shop, for your coffee to be remade in a fresh one.
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Get your £5 back
Hand the cup (with lid, band and stopper) back to any of our shops in usable condition for a full refund, using the original payment card.
Ceramic cups are used for coffee to stay — at our shops or in the immediate vicinity. The cups are supplied by Ecoffee Cup, made from PLA (polylactic acid), with silicone lids, bands and stoppers.
About half a million cups a year.
We estimate this prevents roughly half a million single-use cups, and their lids, from going to landfill every year. It's a small dent in a much bigger problem, but it's a big deal to us — single-use felt like an anachronism once a viable alternative existed, so we introduced the loan cups in February 2022 and stopped paper cups entirely by March 2022.
Reusable cup FAQs.
Will this make a difference to reducing single-use waste?
We estimate that we prevent roughly half a million single-use cups, and their lids, from use or landfill every year. This may be small in relation to the wider problem, but it's a big deal for us and we're proud of the decision.
Will you still make coffee in ceramic?
Yes — for coffees to stay, meaning at our shops or in the immediate vicinity. If you wander off to look inside the shop down the road, that's fine, just bring the cup back when you're done.
Can I use the cup I already have?
Yes, absolutely — we'll make your coffee with our usual coffee-to-milk ratios regardless of which cup it goes in.
What do the cups look like?
Natural white, with the Monmouth Coffee Company logo, our website address, and the words "please return this cup to any of our shops for a refund of your deposit." We also still sell the plain black Ecoffee Cup — that one isn't part of the loan cup scheme.
What happens to the cups at the end of their life?
Return them (with lid etc.) for a refund of the deposit, and we send them on to Ecoffee Cup, who work with Terracycle to recycle, compost or repurpose the components.
Why £5?
For the scheme to be sustainable long term, the deposit needs to cover the cost of running it. We've priced the little and big cups the same, so you can swap between drink sizes with no drama — and there's no discount for using your own cup, since drinks cost the same to stay or to go either way.
How long do I have to return the cup?
As long as you like — you never have to return it if you don't want to. If we ever need to do a cup amnesty in future, we will.
Can you make my coffee into a paper cup?
If you bring your own, we'll make it — we just won't be supplying paper cups ourselves.
Refunds — how long do they take?
You'll need the original payment card for a successful refund — this is a requirement of the card processing company. For UK-based cards, refunds are usually issued within 7 working days, but may take up to 14 working days to show on your account.
More questions?
Call us on 020 7232 3010 or see our general FAQs.