Got any questions?
BORRO FAQs
Whether you’re borrowing a cup, thinking about introducing BORRO at your venue, or want to understand how reuse works, you’ll find the most common questions below.
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About BORRO
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BORRO is a returnable cup scheme designed to make reuse easy in everyday life. Pick up a BORRO cup from a participating location, enjoy your drink, then return it within the BORRO network so it can be used again.
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To make reuse normal. BORRO’s ambition is to create a connected UK reuse network where borrowing, returning and reusing a cup becomes part of everyday life — at cafés, hospitals, universities, workplaces and across communities.
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BORRO is growing towards a connected UK reuse network, expanding as more participating venues and communities join.
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BORRO is designed for organisations including cafés, hospitals, workplaces, colleges and universities, as well as wider community reuse schemes.
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Because successful reuse is about much more than the cup. BORRO helps organisations plan the customer journey, launch the scheme, train staff, communicate with customers, encourage returns, measure performance and keep participation going. As the network grows, partners become part of a wider connected reuse system rather than operating alone.
Using BORRO
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BORRO cups can be returned at participating BORRO return points. We’ll make current locations easy to find as the network grows.
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Yes, where locations are part of the connected BORRO network, the aim is that you can pick up in one participating location and return at another.
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Customers pay a £2 deposit when they take a BORRO reusable cup. When they return the cup to a participating BORRO return point, the customer can exchange it for a clean cup to go, or the £2 deposit is refunded in full. The refund can be provided in cash or returned to the customer’s debit or credit card, depending on the participating café or venue’s payment system.
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Bringing your own cup is a great reuse option, but people do not always have one with them. BORRO provides a convenient reusable alternative at the point of purchase, with a return system designed to keep the cup circulating.
For businesses and organisations
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BORRO in a Box costs £150 + VAT + delivery and is designed for smaller cafés and independent operators. The package includes 50 BORRO reusable cups and lids, point-of-sale materials, and three months’ free access to BORRO Partner Support. After the first three months, the subscription fee for small cafés is £25 + VAT per month.
Additional BORRO cups and lids are available at £1.50 + VAT per set, with volume discounts available for orders of 1,000 cups or more.
For larger organisations, please contact us for partner pricing.
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Reuse does introduce some new processes, so BORRO is designed to make those as clear and manageable as possible through implementation planning, staff guidance and ongoing support.
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BORRO is designed around a simple borrow, use, return and repeat journey, but each venue’s operation needs to be planned so the system fits its existing service.
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Yes. BORRO is designed to connect participating locations rather than operate as an isolated single-site scheme. The practical setup will depend on the organisation and local network.
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Yes. New small café partners can trial BORRO for the first three months. If you decide during this period that the scheme isn’t right for your business, we can arrange to buy back the BORRO cups supplied, provided they are returned clean, undamaged and suitable for continued reuse.
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Where reliable data is available, BORRO can help partners track measures such as reuse, return rates, single-use items avoided and environmental or financial impact.
Reuse questions
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The environmental break-even point depends on factors such as how the cup is washed and transported, how often it is returned and reused, and the end-of-life treatment of both reusable and single-use cups. However, FSG’s Lifecycle Assessment, carried out with Nottingham Trent University, found that an FSG reusable cup becomes more environmentally sustainable than the single-use alternative after just 3 uses.
From that point onwards, the environmental benefit increases with every additional reuse. The key is therefore to keep BORRO cups circulating and being returned and reused as many times as possible.
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Reusable does not mean unwashed. Returned BORRO cups go through the agreed washing process before being put back into circulation, with clean and returned stock managed separately.
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BORRO cups are made from durable polypropylene and are designed specifically for repeated foodservice use. We can provide detailed material and product information to partners who need it for sustainability, procurement or compliance reviews.
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BORRO cups are designed for repeated use over a long service life. Actual life depends on how the cup is handled, washed and circulated, so BORRO focuses on monitoring reuse and keeping cups in active circulation for as long as they remain fit for use.
Who is behind BORRO?
BORRO was originally developed by Victoria Robertshaw and the team at Green Street. The scheme has already helped organisations across Greater Manchester and Bradford move away from disposable cups through a practical local reuse system.
BORRO is now part of FSG Returnables. FSG has been involved with BORRO from the beginning, supplying the reusable cups used across the scheme, so taking BORRO forward is a natural next step.
FSG has spent more than 17 years helping organisations make reuse work in practice. We know that supplying the cup is only one part of it. Making reuse easy to introduce, easy to understand and easy to keep going is what really makes the difference.
We’ve supported thousands of businesses, workplaces, hospitals and communities to replace disposable cups and food containers with practical reuse systems that reduce waste, cut costs and support sustainability goals.
Lynn Johnson
CEO, FSG Returnables
Driven by a commitment to sustainability, Lynn pioneered Reusable Packaging into the UK food service market in 2009. A leading authority on Returnables.