Impact Calculator | KeepCup
Methodology
Data for the calculator is from our third party peer reviewed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) by Edge Environment. The LCA has been conducted to international standard (ISO 14040:2006) and is publicly available. The calculator compares using a KeepCup to using a single-use cup.
Workplace Calculator
Workplace calculations assume light use – 250 coffees per person per year. That’s 1 coffee per weekday over 50 weeks.
Café Calculator
We used a 12oz KeepCup Brew Cork.
Single-use cup
An average single-use 12oz cup contains 9g of paper and 3.3g of plastic, including its polyethylene lining and polystyrene lid. 9g of paper equates to 22.5g of raw wood as raw wood is 2.5 times paper weight.
Wholesale cost to cafes of buying a single-use cup:
Currency |
AUD |
NZD |
GBP |
EUR |
USD |
CAD |
Unit price |
.20 |
.18 |
.12 |
.17 |
.17 |
.22 |
The calculator uses a poly-coated paperboard cup to be conservative in our comparison. Compostable cups have a higher embodied energy in manufacture and higher unit cost.
Compostable cups require a dedicated waste stream to commercial comporting facilities, and ultimately compromise the quality the end compost product.”
Embodied Energy and Carbon Footprint
The energy saved is based on the energy used in production, embodied energy, of 12oz single-use cups. The embodied energy in a KeepCup is not included in this calculation given many people using the calculator will have had their KeepCup for some time already and used it enough to reach the energy breakeven point
The carbon footprint is cradle-to-grave, based on the whole of life impact of single-use cups from production to end of life. It is measured in CO2e, or carbon dioxide equivalent per person per year.
Product |
Embodied energy |
CO2e/person/yr |
Single-use cup |
948 |
9.21 kg |
KeepCup Original |
12412 |
2.42 kg |
KeepCup Brew |
10838 |
2.49 kg |
KeepCup Brew Cork |
12053 |
2.35 kg |
KeepCup Thermal |
23600 |
2.10 kg |
The carbon footprint assumes a conservative KeepCup lifespan of 4 years for Original, Brew and Brew Cork and 8 years for Thermal.
Landfill levies
Market |
Cost per tonne |
AU |
$65.90 |
UK |
£94.15 |
US |
$55.36 |
Savings shown are over one year and rates are indicative as landfill charges vary per municipality.
You can use the calculation below for an exact figure on how much money your workplace is saving on landfill and waste collection charges by choosing reuse:
Number of disposable cups saved x 0.0123 (weight of disposable cup in kg) / 1000 (converting the figure into tonnes) x [cost of your waste collection per tonne or cost of your local landfill levy per tonne.]

Looking to make your office 'single-use' free?
MAKE WHOLESALE ENQUIRY