SwishCups
SwishCups is on a mission to eliminate single use cups in a 100% circular way through the use of PHA cups that are biodegradable, reusable, and recyclable.
Siena Kinsale
Universiteit van Amsterdam
I am currently doing my MSc in Business Administration at the UvA. I also have a BSc in Political Science from the UvA.
Over het initiatief / About the initiative
SwishCups
In welke fase zit jouw initiatief? / In what stage is your initiative?
Startupfase
Heb je jouw initiatief al gevalideerd? / Did you validate your initiative?
Yes
Meer informatie over jouw initiatief / More info about your initiative
SwishCups is excited to contribute to the circular economy and offer PHA cups that are biodegradable, reusable, and recyclable.
Right now, about 500 billion single-use plastic cups are used annually. SwishCups wants to help change this. That’s why SwishCups works with fossil-free PHA cups that are biodegradable, recyclable, and reusable.
PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates) is a biopolymer that is made by feeding plant feedstocks such as starches, sugars, and vegetable oils to bacteria. These PHA cups are made from green energy and when washed and dried properly, these cups can be used hundreds of times. If the cups break they can be recycled, and once exposed to a bacteria found in nature PHA cups can biodegrade fully within a few months, leaving behind minerals and zero microplastics in nature. This makes PHA cups fully circular.
Wat is er anders/nieuw aan jouw idee/oplossing t.o.v. bestaande oplossingen? / What is different/new about your idea/solution compared to existing solutions??
Right now, traditional solutions to single-use cups are reusable cups or biodegradable cups. SwishCups agrees that these solutions can be better than single-use plastic cups, but that is not always the case.
Some reusable cups need to be used 5 to 100 times to be more environmentally sustainable than single-use cups. Moreover, even if these reusable cups are used more than 100 times, there is still a chance they will end up in a landfill after significant use.
This is why SwishCups works with PHA cups that are biodegradable, reusable, and recyclable. This means that, once a PHA cup comes into contact with a bacteria found in nature, it will biodegrade fully, leaving behind only organic nutrients and zero microplastics. Moreover, if a PHA cup breaks, it can be recycled and made into a new product.
Even though PHA cups can biodegrade and be recycled, the more times these cups are reused, the more sustainable they are. That’s why SwishCups advertises PHA cups as reusable cups that maintain a circular lifecycle.
Wat zijn jouw volgende stappen om het verder te ontwikkelen? / What are your next steps to develop the initiative?
SwishCups is excited to offer these cups to events and people who are interested in replacing traditional plastic cups with a more environmentally sustainable alternative.
Wat heb je nodig om (nog meer) impact te maken met dit initiatief? / What do you need to make (more) impact with this initiative?
The more people who know about the benefits of PHA and the fact that PHA can contribute to the circular economy, the more people have the opportunity to switch from using traditional plastics to PHA. Therefore, more brand awareness and publicity could help this initiative grow significantly.