The Economics Behind "Shared Cups": Overlooked Operating Costs and Hygiene Challenges

An exploration of the economics and sustainability of the shared cup model, focusing on its operating costs, hygiene challenges, and consumer acceptance.

Introduction: Reality Obscured by Ideals?

"Environmental protection," "sustainability," and "green consumption" are beautiful words often associated with shared cups. However, under the halo of ideals, the actual operation of shared cups is often overlooked. For example, in City X, the once-popular "Green Motion Cup" project, operated by an environmental technology company, deployed hundreds of thousands of shared cups in an attempt to replace disposable products in coffee shops and fast-food restaurants. However, due to a lack of refined management, unreasonable placement of recycling points, and untimely cleaning, user experience was extremely poor. The project operator also declared failure due to a broken capital chain, and a large number of shared cups were abandoned or even discarded on the streets, becoming a new environmental burden. Another case, the "Clean Cup" shared cup brand in City Y, was exposed by local media for having E. coli levels hundreds of times higher than the standard due to non-standard cleaning and disinfection procedures, seriously violating the relevant provisions of the "National Food Safety Standard for Disinfected Tableware (Drinking Utensils)", triggering strong public doubts about hygiene and safety, and the brand image plummeted. A set of data may illustrate the problem: a city vigorously promoted a shared cup project,投放数量高达10万个，but the actual daily usage rate was less than 10%. This huge gap can't help but make us think: Is sharing cups really a worthwhile business? Can it really bring a greener future as we wish? Is sharing cups a flash in the pan of environmental bubbles, or a sustainable future trend? This article will deeply analyze the economic accounts and hygiene challenges behind the shared cup model, revealing the gap between its ideals and reality.

Overview of the Shared Cup Model: More Than Just Environmental Protection

Shared cups, as the name suggests, are cups that can be shared. Its operating model is mainly divided into two types: deposit mode and rental mode. Under the deposit mode, users pay a certain deposit to use the cup, and the deposit is returned after returning it; the rental mode is similar to shared bicycles, where users pay according to the length of use. The emergence of shared cups undoubtedly has positive significance in reducing the use of disposable cups and alleviating environmental pollution. Under the advocacy of policies and the improvement of environmental awareness, the shared cup market has also experienced a period of rapid development. However, hidden beneath this upsurge are high operating costs and hygiene problems that cannot be ignored, and these problems are gradually being exposed and threatening the sustainability of the shared cup model.

Operating Costs: Underestimated Economic Accounts

The operation of shared cups is by no means a simple matter of投放和回收. Behind it lies a series of complex processes and high costs, which are often underestimated or even ignored.

Cleaning and Disinfection Costs: Expenses Far Beyond Imagination

Cleaning and disinfection is a crucial part of the shared cup operation, and it is also one of the most expensive links. Professional cleaning and disinfection equipment is expensive, and a set of equipment that can meet the needs of large-scale cleaning requires an investment of hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan. In addition, cleaning and disinfection also requires a large number of consumables, such as special detergents and disinfectants. More importantly, labor costs cannot be ignored. According to industry insiders, the cost of manual cleaning and disinfection is several times that of ordinary cleaning. For example, the cost of washing a cup in an ordinary restaurant may only be a few cents, while the cost of professionally cleaning and disinfecting a shared cup may be as high as several yuan or even more than ten yuan. This is because the cleaning and disinfection of shared cups needs to go through a number of strict procedures, including initial washing, fine washing, disinfection, drying, and quality inspection, and each link requires professional personnel to operate.

[Insert image: Shared cup cleaning and disinfection process flow chart]

"Our company mainly adopts high-temperature and high-pressure cleaning and disinfection technology, and the daily average number of shared cups cleaned and disinfected exceeds 10,000. Our customers include shared cup operating companies, catering chain enterprises, etc.," said Mr. Li, the head of a professional cleaning and disinfection company. "We use professional cleaning equipment and food-grade cleaning agents to ensure that each cup is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. For example, to clean a plastic cup, we need to use multi-enzyme detergents to remove surface stains and bacteria, then disinfect it at high temperature, and finally dry it. The entire process, including labor, consumables, and equipment depreciation, costs about 3 yuan. The process of cleaning stainless steel cups is more complex and the cost is higher."

Logistics and Transportation Costs: The Larger the Scale, the Heavier the Burden

The recycling, transportation, and redistribution of shared cups also require high logistics and transportation costs. Imagine thousands of cups distributed in every corner of the city, requiring dedicated vehicles and personnel to recycle them, then transported to the cleaning center for centralized cleaning and disinfection, and finally redistributed to various points of use. The transportation distance, fuel costs, vehicle depreciation fees (including wear and tear and regular maintenance), insurance fees, and labor costs are all a considerable expense. Especially when transporting between different regions, the cost difference is more obvious. For example, transporting cups from the suburbs to the city center may require higher transportation costs because the city center has more traffic congestion and higher labor costs. These regional cost differences directly affect the overall economic benefits of shared cups. According to Deloitte's "2023 China Logistics Industry Development Report", the average cost of intra-city freight is about 5-10 yuan per kilometer.

Loss and Maintenance Costs: Unavoidable Additional Expenses

Shared cups are inevitably damaged, lost, or aged during use. These losses not only increase operating costs, but also affect the user experience. The main types of losses are:

• 人为破坏: User intentional damage, breaking, etc., accounting for about 30% of the total loss.
• Natural aging: Material aging, wear and tear, etc., accounting for about 40% of the total loss.
• Accidental loss: Users forget to return, being stolen, etc., accounting for about 30% of the total loss.

Different solutions can be taken for different types of losses. For example, for人为破坏, user education can be strengthened to improve users' awareness of care; for natural aging, more durable materials can be selected to extend the life of the cup; for accidental loss, the recycling mechanism can be improved to encourage users to return it in a timely manner. In order to ensure the user experience, operating companies need to regularly replace and maintain the cups, which is another additional expense. According to a shared cup operating company, the average loss rate of its cups is about 5%-10%, which means that a large number of cups need to be replaced every year to maintain normal operation.

Management and Personnel Costs: Inevitable Requirements for Refined Operation

The operation of shared cups requires a complete management system and a professional operation team. The management system needs to be able to track the location, usage, cleaning records, and other information of the cups in order to carry out refined management. The operation team needs to be responsible for the投放、回收、cleaning, maintenance, customer service, and other work of the cups. The management cost differences of shared cup projects of different sizes are significant. For example, a shared cup project with 1,000 cups may only need 1-2 management personnel, with an average monthly salary of about 5,000 yuan/person, mainly responsible for daily operation and maintenance work. A shared cup project with 100,000 cups requires dozens or even hundreds of management personnel, including operations managers, marketing specialists, and customer service personnel, with higher salary levels. If you choose to outsource operations, although you can reduce some management costs, you may also face the problem of service quality being difficult to guarantee. If you choose to self-operate, you need to invest more manpower and material resources in personnel training and team building. The management cost differences of different operation modes are significant and need to be weighed according to the actual situation.

Hygiene Challenges: Health Risks That Cannot Be Ignored

In addition to economic costs, hygiene is also a major challenge facing the shared cup model. If the hygiene and safety of shared cups cannot be guaranteed, it will not only affect the user experience, but also may cause health risks.

Material Safety: Qualified Materials Are the Basis

The material selection of shared cups is crucial and must comply with national food safety standards to ensure that it does not release harmful substances. At present, common shared cup materials on the market include PP (polypropylene), Tritan (copolyester), glass, ceramic, etc. Among them, PP cups are cheaper, but have poor high-temperature resistance and may release harmful substances such as bisphenol A (BPA), which may be harmful to human health with long-term use. BPA is an endocrine disruptor, and long-term intake may affect the reproductive and nervous systems. Tritan cups have good high-temperature resistance and transparency, and do not contain BPA, but are relatively expensive. Glass and ceramic cups are more environmentally friendly, but they are fragile and not suitable for sharing. In addition, there are differences in the acid and alkali resistance and wear resistance of cups of different materials, and they need to be selected according to the actual use scenario.

Cleaning and Disinfection: Process Standardization Is the Key

The cleaning and disinfection process of shared cups must be strictly standardized to ensure that bacteria and viruses can be completely killed. Generally speaking, the professional cleaning and disinfection process includes the following steps:

1. Initial wash: Rinse off the residue on the surface of the cup with clean water.
2. Fine wash: Thoroughly wash the cup with a special detergent (for example, a food-grade detergent containing enzymes and surfactants) to remove grease and stains. Enzymes can effectively break down proteins and fats, and surfactants can reduce the surface tension of water, making the detergent easier to penetrate into the inside of the stains.
3. Disinfection: Disinfect the cup with high-temperature steam (temperature reaching 90°C or above, lasting 10 minutes) or ultraviolet rays to kill bacteria and viruses. High-temperature steam can destroy the cell structure of bacteria, and ultraviolet rays can destroy the DNA of bacteria, making them lose their ability to reproduce.
4. Drying: Dry the cup to prevent bacteria from growing.
5. Quality inspection: Inspect the cleaned and disinfected cups to ensure that they meet hygiene standards.

Supervision and Testing: The Last Line of Defense for Safety

Government regulatory authorities' spot checks and supervision of shared cups, as well as enterprises' own regular testing, are important means to ensure hygiene and safety. Regulatory authorities will regularly conduct spot checks on shared cup products on the market to detect whether their materials meet safety standards and whether cleaning and disinfection are thorough. If unqualified products are found, the enterprise will be ordered to rectify or even fined. Enterprises themselves should also regularly test the cups to ensure that they meet hygiene standards.

[Insert image: NSF certification mark]

Shared cup companies can consider applying for international authoritative certifications such as NSF certification to prove the safety and hygiene of their products. NSF certification is the certification of the National Sanitation Foundation of the United States and is considered one of the highest standards in the field of food safety. Obtaining NSF certification requires strict review and testing, including material safety, structural integrity, and cleaning and disinfection effects. Its certification process includes application, evaluation, testing, audit, certification, and annual review.

Consumer Awareness: Usage Habits Affect Hygiene

Consumers' usage habits also have an important impact on the hygiene of shared cups. For example, if consumers do not thoroughly clean the cups before use, or if they cross-use the cups during use, it may lead to the spread of bacteria. Therefore, raising consumers' awareness of hygiene and guiding them to develop good usage habits is also an important part of ensuring the hygiene and safety of shared cups.

A questionnaire survey of consumers of different age groups shows:

• Consumers aged 18-25 are most worried that the cups are not thoroughly cleaned and there are residual bacteria.
• Consumers aged 26-35 are most worried that the cup material is unsafe and releases harmful substances.
• Consumers aged 36-45 are most worried that disinfection is not standardized and viruses cannot be effectively killed.

Economic Benefit Analysis: The Gap Between Ideals and Reality

What are the economic benefits of shared cups? Is it a real environmental tool, or a flashy gimmick? We need to conduct an objective evaluation through case analysis and data comparison.

Case Analysis: Operating Data in Different Scenarios

We selected three representative cases for analysis:

• Case 1: Shared cup project on a university campus. The project投放了5000个共享杯, mainly serving students and faculty. According to data provided by the project负责人, the daily usage rate reached 30%, but due to students' weak awareness of care, the loss rate was also high, about 15%.
• Case 2: Shared cup project in a large office building. The project投放了10000个共享杯, mainly serving office workers. According to data provided by the project负责人, the daily usage rate was only 10%, but due to the higher quality of office workers, the loss rate was low, about 5%.
• Case 3: Shared cup project of a coffee chain store. The project投放了10万个共享杯 in stores nationwide. Due to the strong brand effect and high user trust, the daily usage rate reached 20%. However, due to the wide distribution of stores, the management difficulty was large, and the operating costs were also high.

Note: Due to trade secrets, specific operating costs and income data are not available to the public.

Data Comparison: Cost Comparison with Disposable Cups

The following chart shows the cost comparison between shared cups and disposable cups:

[Insert cost comparison chart, including production costs, operating costs, handling costs, etc., and use different colors and labels to distinguish different types of costs, and add indicators such as return on investment and break-even point]

Data source: Compiled according to public data

Influencing Factors: Economies of Scale, Usage Frequency, and Loss Rate

We establish a more complex mathematical model to analyze the degree of influence of different factors on the economic benefits of shared cups:

Economic Benefit = (Number of Uses * Single Revenue) - (Number of Cups * (Single Cup Cost + Loss Rate * Replacement Cost) + Fixed Operating Costs + Variable Operating Costs)

By adjusting the parameters in the model, we can analyze the degree of influence of different factors on economic benefits.

Consumer Insights: Acceptance and Usage Habits

Consumers' acceptance and usage habits directly affect the promotion effect and operation efficiency of shared cups.

Acceptance Survey: Environmental Awareness and Hygiene Concerns

A survey of consumers of different ages, education levels, and income levels shows:

• Age: Young people (18-35 years old) have a higher acceptance of shared cups, and older people (55 years old and above) have a lower acceptance, mainly because older people are more sensitive to hygiene issues and have a lower acceptance of new things.
• Education: The higher the education level, the higher the acceptance of shared cups, mainly because the higher the education level, the stronger the environmental awareness and the easier it is to accept new things.
• Income: The higher the income, the higher the acceptance of shared cups, mainly because the higher the income, the higher the requirements for quality of life, and the more willing to pay for environmental protection and health.

The main factors affecting consumers' choices include: environmental awareness, hygiene concerns, and convenience.

Usage Habits: Affecting Operating Efficiency and Hygiene

Through user interviews, we learned about the problems and difficulties consumers encounter when using shared cups:

• Can't find the return location. It is recommended to increase the number of return points and provide map navigation.
• Inconvenient cleaning. It is recommended to provide cleaning tools in public places to facilitate users to perform simple cleaning.
• Worried about hygiene issues. It is recommended to strengthen cleaning and disinfection publicity to increase user trust.

Promotion Strategies: How to Increase User Participation

We can learn from successful shared economy cases such as shared bicycles and shared charging treasures, such as:

• 积分奖励: Using shared cups can earn points, which can be exchanged for coupons or gifts. This method is most attractive to users.
• Membership System: Launch a membership system, and members can enjoy more discounts and services.
• Cooperative Promotion: Cooperate with coffee shops, fast food restaurants, and other businesses to promote shared cups.

Policies and Standards: The Necessity of Industry Norms

Government policy support and regulatory requirements for the shared cup industry, as well as the formulation and implementation of industry standards, are crucial for regulating industry development and protecting consumer rights.

Policy Support: Encouragement and Regulation Coexist

City Z issued the "Several Measures on Supporting the Development of Shared Cups", which provides shared cup companies with a maximum of 500,000 yuan of financial subsidies and provides tax incentives. The application process is relatively simple, and only relevant application materials need to be submitted. In addition, the "14th Five-Year Plan for Circular Economy Development" also clearly proposes to "promote recyclable, easy-to-recycle, and degradable packaging materials, and promote the reduction, standardization, and recycling of packaging", which provides policy support for the development of the shared cup industry.

Industry Standards: Ensuring Safety and Quality

The existing shared cup industry standards mainly focus on materials and cleaning and disinfection, but there are still shortcomings in operation management and user experience. It is recommended to make improvements in the following aspects:

• Establish a unified recycling system to facilitate user returns.
• Formulate user behavior norms to guide users to use them in a civilized manner.
• Establish a customer service system to handle user feedback in a timely manner.
• Establish carbon emission standards for the shared cup industry to promote the green development of the industry.

Supervision Intensity: Protecting Consumer Rights

Regulatory authorities should strengthen the supervision of shared cup companies and severely punish violations. In 2023, a shared cup company was fined 200,000 yuan by regulatory authorities for failing to meet cleaning and disinfection standards and ordered to suspend business for rectification, which played a warning role.

Conclusion and Outlook: A Sustainable Future Requires Rational Thinking

The shared cup model has certain potential in environmental protection, but it also faces realistic challenges such as high operating costs and prominent hygiene problems. To achieve the sustainable development of shared cups, we need to think rationally and take effective measures:

• Strengthen Technological Innovation: Develop more efficient and intelligent cleaning and disinfection equipment, such as automated cleaning technology and intelligent monitoring systems.
• Establish a Sound Recycling System: Increase the recycling rate of cups and reduce the loss rate, such as using Internet of Things technology to track the location of cups in real time.
• Promote Environmental Education: Raise consumers' environmental awareness and hygiene awareness, and encourage them to actively participate in shared cup projects.
• Strengthen Policy Guidance and Supervision: Standardize industry development and protect consumer rights, such as establishing industry associations, strengthening technical exchanges, formulating industry norms, and guiding the healthy development of the industry.

Looking to the future, the development trend of shared cups will be more intelligent and personalized. The government should strengthen guidance and encourage companies to carry out technological innovation and model innovation; companies should pay attention to user needs and provide higher-quality products and services; consumers should actively participate and jointly promote the sustainable development of the shared cup industry. For example, shared cups of different colors and styles can be provided according to users' preferences; big data technology can be used to analyze users' usage habits and optimize operating strategies; it can be combined with other environmental protection methods, such as linking with waste classification, energy conservation and emission reduction projects. Only in this way can we truly realize the environmental value of shared cups and jointly create a better future.

References:

• "National Food Safety Standard for Disinfected Tableware (Drinking Utensils)" (GB 14934-2016)
• "14th Five-Year Plan for Circular Economy Development"
• Deloitte, "2023 China Logistics Industry Development Report"