Cubaya
GIVING YOUR USED COFFEE CUPS A NEW LEASE ON LIFE
OUR PROBLEM
Australia throws away 1 billion paper coffee cups a year. Despite being made from paper, they cannot be recycled in traditional ways when you put them in a regular recycling bin at your local shopping centre. Cubaya, meaning ‘cups’ in Ethiopian, aspires to recycle coffee cups by integrating them into new products which helps remove them from the natural environment.
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OUR SOLUTION
Cubaya is working to develop a specialised recycling bin that uses an interactive screen to change consumer behaviour to increase paper cup recycling. The non-recyclable cups collected are then shredded and mixed with concrete mix, to creating modern and functional household items that can be sold locally. The concrete product traps the micro-plastics within itself turning the piece of waste into a reusable and sustainable item, helping us in our goal of saving our natural environment.
MEAREG, JAKE AND
SON OF CUBAYA AT THE 2019 ENACTUS NATIONAL CONFERENCE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
We extend our acknowledgment to the forebears, seniors, and kin of the Kulin Nation (for our Melbourne campuses), the Eora Nation (for our Sydney campus), and the Yulara/Yugarapul and Turrbal Nation (for our Brisbane campus). These groups are the original custodians of the University's lands. While we contribute our individual knowledge and customs within the University, it is important to honor the profound wisdom enshrined within the Aboriginal community and affirm their custodianship of the land.
We respect that the ground upon which we gather, learn, and exchange wisdom is steeped in long-standing ceremonies of revelry, initiation, and rejuvenation. The customary practices and vibrant culture of the Traditional Owners hold a distinctive place in the life of this area.