faq

Please feel free to contact us if your question is not answered below.

reusable cups.

  • Our Stemless and Flutes are made from patented Tritan, type #7 plastic and our Tumbler and Taster styles are made from Polypropylene, type #5 plastic.

  • Tumbler and Taster cups are manufactured at our HQ in Melbourne. Stemless and Flutes are sourced through an exclusive partnership and manufactured in China with a registered supplier of the patented Tritan plastic. Our partner has visited the factory to check the worker safety standards and conditions and confirmed these to be of a high standard.

    We have tried many different avenues to manufacture our Stemless and Flutes in Australia but have yet to find a way of doing so that doesn’t compromise their shape, durability and reusability. We are always researching!

  • Our cups are made from virgin plastic. There are a number of barriers currently (specific to our business and plastics) to using recycled plastic and these include:

    • Strict food standards that dictate we cannot use recycled Polypropylene plastic content in our food grade products because of the potential for recycled content to contain uncontrolled post-consumer materials (contamination). This will likely change as recycled material sources for these types become more regulated, which thankfully the industry is slowly progressing towards!

    • The percentage of recycled content that can be used when making a cup will need to be investigated and tested thoroughly too. Recycled materials can exhibit inferior performance to virgin materials, especially for clarity and strength, as a result of repeated exposure to chemical and thermal processes which cause molecular changes. This means it could affect the durability and ultimately the reusability of our cups! Creating something that is made to last is key in a circular economy.

    *We're committed to staying on top of industry changes and being proactive so that we can adapt and adopt new technologies and solutions as they become viable. Just because a particular process or way of doing something may be the best solution currently, doesn't mean it can't or won't change in future.

  • Yes, our cups can be recycled when they are no longer suitable for reuse. The good news is that our volumes for recycling are typically very low and infrequent due to their reusable and durable design.

    When we have Tumblers or Tasters that can no longer be reused or repurposed we have a small business Victorian recycling partner who uses the plastic to create wheelie bins and flower pots. For individuals, the cups are commonly kerbside recyclable through the majority of councils across Australia.

    Our Stemless or Flutes styles can be recycled into things such as reusable coffee cup parts by a number of different local businesses that are provided to us on an as needed basis directly by our plastics supplier. While we can’t guarantee that these styles will be recycled if you put them in your kerbside recycling (as type #7 is a catch all) we do encourage you to get inventive with repurposing them first. At Bettercup, we have personally used ours for growing plants from scraps, candle holders and other creative projects. Share and tag us in any ideas you have, we would absolutely love to see them!

    *Recycling is the last option we take and we do focus on trying to repurpose all of our styles of cups before making the decision to recycle. Community organisations and kindergartens are just a couple of examples of the places we reach out to to see if they could use them things such as for growing seedlings, propagation, play toys (kids seem to love the colours and measuring with the cups!). If you have or know of a place that may like to receive our cups that we can no longer rent or sell please contact us at hello@bettercup.com.au

  • Similar to any other plastic container (think your rigid plastic food containers at home), our cups will last a long time. The print is the first thing to deteriorate and over time the cups will begin to show general signs of wear and tear through continued reuse.

  • Nope. You have to use some brute force to try and good luck trying to break a Stemless or Flute!

washing.

  • Yes! That’s what makes them so great for reusing over and over. The temperature of your home dishwasher can reach over 120℃, so we recommend using the top rack when washing at home.

hygiene.

  • Yes. Washing onsite at events can be done to strict food safety standards.

    Have a chat to us about your specific event or venue requirements and we will guide you with implementing best practice hygienic washing yourself or take care of it for you.

printing.

  • The term "in mould labelling" is directly derived from the technique: a preprinted polypropylene (PP) label is placed in a mould. This mould has the shape of the end product, e.g. the shape of a bettercup.

    Then the molten PP is added to the mould. It fuses with the label, and while curing, takes the shape of the mould. Result: label and cup become one. Aww.

  • Pad printing uses a silicone pad to transfer an image onto an item. A machine holds the product steady and presses it into an ink plate before it’s stamped by the pad. Pad printing can decorate our cups because while transferring the image to the cup, the silicone pad wraps around and adapts to the shape of the cup without distorting the image.

    There are size restrictions, and each different colour requires a new set up and print, which increases the price. Please see pics on our Custom Cups page for examples.

ordering and services.

  • Excellent question! Some things to consider are: The style of event, style of cups, number of attendees, demographic, location/venue, number of drinks sold in single-use cups previously and your goals with switching to reuse.

    Contact us and we will point you in the right direction.

  • Implementing a reusable model at your event or venue over the traditional make, take, dispose model requires good planning and execution pre, during and post event. We will work with you to figure out the best solution and what parts of our services we are best suited to deliver or where just providing some guidance will work best for you.

    Ask us about the things you’re not sure about - you might just need us to confirm a few details, or you might need us to create a package.

    We will make suggestions based on what we think you need and you can choose from there!

  • Custom Cups

    Please allow for 3 weeks to arrange a custom pad print design on any style, and then shipping time on top of that. For IML, a minimum of 6 weeks from design approval is required plus shipping time. Please note these lead times may be longer if we’re really busy and already making cups for other events, so get in touch as soon as possible!

    Rental Cups

    For quantities under 1,000 please give us at least a week's notice. For larger quantities a 2-4 week lead time applies, but remember providing as much notice as possible will ensure the styles and designs you would like is available!

  • More typical with rental orders but occasionally with new cup orders. We do like to double check everything is in order before shipping and it doesn’t make sense to discard a perfectly good looking and functioning box.

    Your cups are perfect, we promise.

  • Sure thing! We have an entire online shop dedicated to plain and unprinted cups. We ship the very next business day!

have you heard about our reuse system? Find out how we can help you with your reuse journey!