In an ideal world, everyone carries a reusable coffee cup.

It’s returned, reused, part of a system that works seamlessly.

And for some people, that's already the case.

But for most, it isn’t.

Because real life doesn’t always allow for it.

People are moving.
They forget.
They’re between meetings, on their way somewhere else, making decisions quickly.

Convenience still shapes behaviour.

And until that changes, the reality is this:

Takeaway coffee isn’t slowing.
And neither are the cups that come with it.

Across Australia, millions are used every day.
Globally, it’s in the billions.

Not because people don’t care.

Because the system still relies on it.

In conversations with industry groups and policymakers,
the direction is clear.

Reuse.
Recycle.

These are the pathways being prioritised.
Shaped through policy, targets, and broader initiatives.

And in theory, both make sense.

But in practice, the picture is less straightforward.

Many of the formats currently in circulation, including takeaway coffee cups,
are not consistently able to move through those pathways as intended.

They depend on specific conditions.
Specific infrastructure.
And behaviour that isn’t always reliable.

Which means the outcome often varies.

Often depending as much on where it’s disposed as what it’s made from.

And that raises a different question.

If these products are going to continue to exist at scale,
what should they be designed to do instead?

In the case of takeaway coffee cups, that’s where things break down.

Because takeaway coffee cups are not just paper.

They’re lined.

Which means they don’t behave like paper at all.

They can’t move through standard recycling streams.
They require specialised processing.

And in most cases, that infrastructure isn’t there.

So while “recyclable” is often stated,
the outcome rarely matches the intention.

This is the gap.

Between what is said
and what actually happens.

Between intention
and outcome.

And it’s a gap you only really see from the inside.

So the question isn’t just how to change behaviour.

It’s what happens while it stays the same.

Because single-use isn’t disappearing overnight.

Which means it needs to evolve.

This is where new materials change the conversation.

Not by asking people to behave differently.
But by working within the behaviour that already exists.

PHA-lined cups are part of that shift.
And increasingly, fully PHA-based cups now in development.

Materials designed to return safely to nature,
even if the system around them isn’t perfect.

Not dependent on ideal conditions.
Not reliant on perfect disposal.

But aligned with the reality of how things are actually used.

Because progress doesn’t only come from replacing habits.

It also comes from redesigning what supports them.

Not as a compromise.

As a better version of what already exists.