Revolutionizing Reuse: The New Refill App and Return Cup Program

We're thrilled to announce the successful launch of the brand new mobile app for Refill (www.refill.org.uk) and the supporting software infrastructure for their innovative return cup program! This project marks a significant step forward in Refill's mission to reduce single-use plastic and empower communities across the UK to embrace sustainable alternatives.

For those unfamiliar, Refill connects people with places to eat, drink, and shop with less waste. Their existing app helps users find locations where they can refill water bottles for free. Now, we've expanded this functionality with a comprehensive system that enables cafes nationwide to participate in a reusable cup lending scheme.

Tackling the Single-Use Cup Challenge

The sheer number of single-use coffee cups discarded daily poses a significant environmental challenge. Our goal was to build a user-friendly and robust platform that makes choosing reusable cups the convenient and preferred option for both consumers and businesses.

The new Refill app allows users to:

• Discover participating cafes: Easily find local cafes offering the return cup program through an interactive map and search functionality.
• Borrow a reusable cup: Check out a reusable cup from a participating cafe with a simple in-app process.
• Track their borrowed cups: Keep track of their active loans and due dates.
• Return cups with ease: Locate any participating cafe to return their borrowed cup.
• Continue finding refill stations: The app retains its original functionality, allowing users to locate free water refill stations.

Behind the scenes, a powerful software ecosystem supports the return cup program, enabling cafes to:

• Manage their cup inventory: Track the number of cups they have in circulation.
• Process cup loans and returns: Easily manage the lending process through a dedicated interface.
• Monitor program participation: Gain insights into the usage of the return cup scheme.

The Technology Powering the Change

To deliver a seamless and scalable solution, we leveraged a modern and robust technology stack:

• Mobile App (iOS and Android): React Native and TypeScript: We chose React Native, written in TypeScript, to build a single codebase for both the iOS and Android apps. This allowed for efficient development and ensures a consistent user experience across platforms, while TypeScript adds type safety and improves code maintainability.
• Backend and Data Management: Firebase: Google's Firebase provides a comprehensive suite of backend services, including a real-time NoSQL database (Firestore), authentication, and cloud functions. Firebase's scalability and ease of use made it an ideal choice for managing the app's data and user interactions.
• Supporting Web Applications: Next.js: For any supporting web interfaces required by Refill and potentially participating cafes, we utilized Next.js, a React framework for building server-rendered and static web applications. This ensures optimal performance and SEO.

Data Insights and Reporting with Power BI

Understanding the impact and effectiveness of the return cup program is crucial. To facilitate this, we also developed a robust data warehouse and reporting solution. This system allows Refill to gain valuable insights into program adoption, cup circulation, and overall environmental impact.

Our data solution comprises:

• Custom ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) Solution: Given the diverse data sources, including Firebase and potentially other operational systems, we built a custom ETL pipeline. This solution is responsible for extracting raw data, transforming it into a consistent and analysis-ready format, and loading it into a dedicated data warehouse. This ensures data quality and integrity for reporting purposes.
• Data Warehouse: The transformed data is stored in a scalable data warehouse. This centralized repository is optimized for analytical queries, allowing for efficient generation of reports and dashboards.
• Reporting and Visualization with Power BI: Microsoft's Power BI is used to connect to the data warehouse and create interactive dashboards and reports. These visualizations provide Refill with key metrics and insights, such as:
  • Number of cups currently in circulation.
  • Frequency of cup borrowing and returns.
  • Geographical distribution of program participation.
  • Estimated reduction in single-use cup consumption.
  • Trends in user engagement and cafe participation.

This data-driven approach empowers Refill to monitor the program's success, identify areas for improvement, and effectively communicate its impact to stakeholders. The insights gained will be invaluable in further scaling the return cup initiative and maximizing its environmental benefits.

A Collaborative Effort for a Greener Future

This project was a fantastic collaboration with the Refill team, driven by a shared commitment to sustainability. We're incredibly proud to have played a key role in developing the technology that underpins this impactful initiative.

We believe the new Refill app and the return cup program, supported by insightful data analytics, have the potential to significantly reduce single-use cup waste across the UK. We encourage everyone to download the app, find participating cafes, and join the reuse revolution!

Stay tuned for more updates and announcements as the program rolls out nationwide. Let's work together to create a more sustainable future, one reusable cup at a time.