Maine cafes now loaning out reusable containers to go

By Amy Paradysz
Photos by Cindy Isenhour

Tired of all the trash associated with eating out? Next time you stop at a café for a cup of coffee or a sandwich to go, you might be able to get those in stainless-steel containers that you bring back next time.

This is already a reality at 11 cafes across six coastal Maine communities, thanks to a partnership between researchers at the University of Maine and the volunteer coalition Reuse Maine.

Here’s how it works: You sign up for a free ReuseME account by downloading the Recircable app. Then, let’s say you order a slice of quiche and a macchiato from a participating cafe. They’ll ask if you want to borrow containers. If you do, you’ve got two weeks to return them at any participating site.

“We want to keep them in circulation and reuse them as many times as we can,” says Cindy Isenhour, the University of Maine anthropology and climate change professor leading the project. “Right now we’re in a pilot phase, and we’re trying to figure out what works, what people like about it and what can be improved. But I have this vision that this becomes a normalized process in Maine and it’s even easy for tourists to borrow reusables as they travel the state.”

The containers include coffee mugs (double-walled, insulated and 70% recycled steel) in 12-ounce and 16-ounce sizes and food containers in 30-ounce and 48-ounce sizes.

Isenhour believes the reusables network will continue beyond the university’s involvement, in part because the containers have already been purchased through a marine debris reduction grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a waste reduction grant from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Also, there’s already some traction: Containers have been checked out more than 1,800 times by 286 subscribers, and the number of participating sites continues to grow.

Look for the ReuseME option in these communities: 

·      South Portland—at Night Moves Bread, Second Rodeo Coffee Shop, and Verbena

·      Portland—at Coveside Coffee and Tandem Coffee and Roastery

·      Bath—at Solo Pane e Pasticceria

·      Brunswick—at Wild Oats

·      Bar Harbor—at Cafe This Way and Coffee Matter Cafe

·      Belfast—at Belfast Co-Op

·      Lincolnville—at Dot’s Market

For more information, visit umaine.edu/reuseme/pilot-communities/