Goodbye

disposable,

Lendable is replacing disposable cups across UWE’s Frenchay Campus, starting in Atrium Cafe, Wild Kitchen and The Students’ Union bar.

Takeaway hot drinks are now served in purple reusable cups.

Drink up, then return the cup in a purple Lendable bin.

Cups are collected, cleaned and returned to campus, ready to be used again.

It’s as easy as that. Every cup returned makes Lendable better for the environment.

Find Lendable bins in participating cafes and across campus here

Tell us what you think about Lendable and you could win a £50 voucher.

Take our short survey

It reduces waste and our environmental impact – every cup you return makes Lendable better for the environment. After two uses, a Lendable cup can reduce carbon emissions by up to 20-30% compared to using disposable paper cups.
Most disposable ‘paper’ cups are often lined with plastic, which is hard to separate from the paper. Unless you put it in a specific cup recycling bin, it can’t be recycled. This means less than 3% of disposable paper cups are recycled in the UK every year, with most ending up in general waste bins.
Producing and recycling or throwing away disposable cups typically creates more carbon emissions than using a reusable cup over and over again. This is why it’s so important to return Lendable cups, to reduce our environmental impact even more.
Lendable has been introduced in 3 cafes in May 2026 to test how it works. We aim to expand to more cafes across campus in September 2026.
All takeaway hot drinks are served in Lendable cups. Cold drinks may also be included from September 2026.
It covers the cost for Lendable cups to be collected, washed and returned to campus. Bring your own reusable cup or dine in with a mug to avoid the fee!
They're sent to a professional cleaning facility south of Bristol to be washed and sanitised.

It’s lightweight and durable. Plastic has less environmental impact than other materials and can be used over 100 times. It’s BPA-free and meets health and safety standards.
We need the cups to be returned, and people are less likely to keep the cup with a disposable lid. You can leave the lid on the cup when returning it.
Only if it has been washed and is clean.
Yes! We’re not trying to replace your personal reusable cup. Lendable is for those who forget to bring them.
Please bring it back to campus next time. You can wash and reuse the cup in the meantime.
Please finish your drink or empty out any liquid into a sink or down a drain before returning it in a purple bin. This will make emptying the bins much easier for UWE’s cleaning and environment teams.

If you’d like to get in touch about Lendable, please contact refillreturn@ecosurety.com