Aussies divided on cafe's unique money saving tactic

But, it seems it's more common than you might think.

A Melbourne cafe has caused debate after their unique coffee trays were exposed online.

While some see the benefits of the idea, citing its resourcefulness and sustainability, others aren’t so sure it’s worth the hassle - or the smell.

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Image: Reddit.

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“Had to share what my local cafe does for trays”

A Melbourne Reddit user has taken to the platform to share a photo of their local cafe’s drinks tray.

“Had to share what my local cafe does for trays,” they wrote.

The ‘tray’ is made up of two MILKLAB cartons stuck together with masking tape. Four holes have then been cut into the makeshift carton, with knifes used to create X’s.

“I appreciated them using rubbish for something useful before it gets turfed or recycled. Though I think they also want less stuff in their bins haha,” they elaborated in the comments.

“That’s a good recycling idea!”

Many commenters on the post were all for the idea, saying it was a great way to reuse the empty cartons - since they are often not recyclable in the traditional sense - and save money at the same time.

“That is one way of reusing!” one person said.

“I used to own a coffee place and trays are really quite pricey (from memory about 20c each). This is a good idea…. Wish I’d thought of it!” another agreed.

“That's a good recycling idea,” said a third.

Others even said it was more common than you might expect.

“This is suuuper common in WA, I’m surprised so many people are seeing it for the first time!” said one person.

“That’s fairly common to be honest,” another added.

“I've seen this in both Perth and Adelaide. It's not anything new, and should be more common given how much of the alternative milks are used, and that none (AFAIK) come in recyclable packaging,” a third agreed.

Is it really worth the hassle?

However, not everyone was so sure.

Many commenters were critical of the method, citing the amount of effort it would take from staff - and the nasty milk smell consumers have to deal with.

“Feels like so much effort to clean them, cut them, then tape them just to use as a tray which is cheap and recycled/recyclable anyway?” one person said.

“Using a lot of hot water and soap to clean them first...not sure if that makes environmentally sense,” another agreed.

“Seems labour intensive,” another said.

“So paper, tape, and rinsing the old containers until they don’t smell,” another wondered.

Originally published as Aussies divided on cafe's unique money saving tactic