177 Dan Dicker: moving the dial on reusable cup systems

About this episode

Dan Dicker discusses Circular&Co's innovative approach to reusable cup systems and their impact on reducing single-use waste.

Dan Dicker is the founder and CEO of Circular&Co, a Cornwall-based Circular Design brand on a mission to eliminate single-use waste. With a background in product design and innovation, Dan has spent over 20 years championing circular economy principles, designing products and systems that keep materials in use for longer. Alongside consumer products, he leads Circular&Co’s work on reuse and returnable cup systems, partnering with venues, events and organisations to drive real-world change and deliver genuine environmental impact. Dan explains how Circular&Co’s design skills are creating reuse and returnable cup systems, which are breaking the mould by not requiring an app, or a deposit, and are achieving extremely high levels of reuse by being super-convenient for the cup users, for cafes and for the local community. We hear how the systems work across a range of use scenarios, and how Circular&Co are using rich data sets to design efficient and effective systems for logistics and cleaning, and to help potential clients make a compelling business case.

People in this episode

Guest: Dan Dicker

Topics covered

• circular economy
• reusable cup systems
• sustainability
• product design
• innovation

Keywords

• Circular&Co
• single-use waste
• reuse systems
• environmental impact

Mentioned in this episode

Products: reusable cup systems

Places: Cornwall

More episodes of Circular Economy Podcast

• 180 Building the business case for circularity: the ripple effect · April 20, 2026 · 37 min
• 179 Dimitri Naczaj: using behavioural science to bridge the “say-do” gap · April 4, 2026 · 42 min
• 178 Simon Cook of Reset Scenery: embedding circularity into the creative industries · March 22, 2026 · 39 min
• 176 Katie Allen – why healthy clothing starts with healthy soils · February 22, 2026 · 48 min
• 175 Stephen Fitzpatrick: remanufacturing as a strategic capability · February 8, 2026 · 53 min
• 174 Sydney Harris and Jennifer Carrigan of Upstream: effective, equitable reuse systems · January 25, 2026 · 37 min