Reuse your cup and save 30p
We use around 160,000 single-use cups in University cafés each year. That is roughly 1.5 tonnes of cups being used once and thrown away every year - before lids and sleeves are taken into account.
To help reduce this waste, we charge a 30p levy on hot drinks served in a single-use cup in University cafés and bars.
The good news is that the levy is easy to avoid. Bring any reusable cup with you, or borrow a Vytal cup for free.
Download Vytal for iPhone: Apple App Store
Download Vytal for Android: Google Play
Bring your own reusable cup
You do not need to use a particular type or brand of reusable cup. Bring your own clean reusable cup to a University café and you will not pay the 30p single-use cup levy.
If you already have a reusable cup, this is the simplest option.
Forgotten your cup? Borrow one with Vytal
Vytal is a reusable cup and food container borrowing scheme available in participating University cafés.
There is no deposit and no charge to borrow a Vytal cup. You simply borrow it using the Vytal app and return it within 14 days.
How it works
- Download the Vytal app and create an account.
- Add a payment method. This acts as security for the cup - you are not charged when you register or borrow one.
- Ask for your drink in a Vytal cup when you order.
- Scan the cup using the app so it is linked to your account.
- Enjoy your drink - and avoid the 30p single-use cup levy.
- Return the cup to a participating Vytal location within 14 days. The cup is scanned back into the system and removed from your account.
You can see your return deadline in the app, and Vytal can send you reminders when your cup is due back.
Download Vytal for iPhone: Apple App Store
Download Vytal for Android: Google Play
Will Vytal take money from my account?
Not if you return your cup on time.
Vytal asks you to register a payment method because cups are loaned without a deposit. Nothing is taken when you borrow a cup. If a cup is not returned within the 14-day borrowing period, Vytal applies a replacement charge. The UK Vytal cup scheme uses a £4 charge for an unreturned cup.
The app shows when each item is due back, so you can keep track of anything you have borrowed.
Do I need to wash the cup before returning it?
You do not need to wash it ready for the next person. If you can, give the cup a quick rinse before returning it. Returned Vytal cups and containers are professionally washed before they are used again, in the same way as other reusable crockery in our cafés.
Why reuse?
A typical disposable 12oz paper cup weighs around 8-11g. At the 160,000 cups currently used across our cafés each year, that means we get through roughly 1.5 tonnes of single-use cup material annually, even before lids and sleeves are included.
Reusing a cup keeps materials in circulation instead of requiring another single-use cup to be manufactured, transported and disposed of. The more times reusable cups are used, the more single-use packaging we can avoid.
Whether you bring your own cup or borrow one through Vytal, every reuse helps - and saves you 30p each time.
From Sheffield research to our cafés
Vytal was first introduced on campus through Many Happy Returns, a University of Sheffield research project exploring how reusable packaging systems can replace single-use packaging.
The UKRI-funded project brought together researchers from different disciplines to understand not just the materials involved, but the behaviours and systems needed to make reuse work in practice. University researchers worked with our catering teams to trial Vytal in our cafés, turning research into a practical scheme that staff and students could use on campus.
The scheme has continued beyond the original research project as part of our wider work to reduce single-use packaging and waste across the University.