Quick coffees on the go have long since become the norm. Mario Spengler, a quality management employee at Hermsen GmbH in Kleve, also likes coffee to go, preferably in a reusable cup. However, he is bothered by the fact that every café and bakery in Kleve uses its own reusable cup system. Therefore, he wondered whether there might be a possibility of a city-wide shared reusable cup system instead of the many individual solutions in Kleve. Conveniently, his employer is a distributor of food packaging, so the path to a solution was not far off.
Save money with the Klever Becher
Together with Hermsen Managing Director Joachim Just, he developed the Klever cup: a reusable cup produced in Germany that can be filled or exchanged in all participating cafés and bakeries. It can be purchased for a one-off fee of €2.00. In return, there is a discount of €0.10 every time the cup is filled, as the seller saves on issuing a disposable cup. For Mario Spengler and Joachim Just, their idea contributes directly to several sustainability goals.
´It reduces waste, promotes sustainable consumption and production, conserves resources and saves CO2.`
Making Kleve stronger with the Klever Cup
Their idea promotes a low-waste city and makes a visible contribution to sustainable urban design. “We hope that many businesses will get involved,” say Mario Spengler and Joachim Just. This creates a sense of community that motivates the people of Kleve to take responsibility and be part of the solution. Local businesses and consumers pull together for a clean city and every use becomes a small contribution to Kleve.
Mario Spengler and Joachim Just want to use the prize money from the Klever Birne to purchase the first cups. They have already shared their concept with the Wirtschaft, Tourismus und Marketing GmbH of the city of Kleve and are hoping for support from the municipality. Participating in the competition is a door opener for them: the ideas are already being reported and discussed in advance. And the award ceremony evening also offers numerous networking opportunities. The pair are already thinking one step ahead: a reusable cup system for the State Garden Show in Kleve in 2029?
Curious? View individual introductions to this year’s finalists here on our website or on our social media channels in the coming weeks leading up to the Klever Birne award ceremony on 11 September 2025 and find out more. Admission to the award ceremony is free of charge, but registration is requested.
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