Staff at Kivi, Möku, Barlova and Naiiv introduced their cups on Sept. 1.

The cups work on a deposit system and cost €2 up front, which is then returned to the customer when they return their cup to any of the four bars.

The idea to work together was first suggested by Kivi baar on Rüütli tänav, and the inspiration came from seeing other rentable reusable cup schemes at music festivals in Estonia.

Previously, the bars used a mix of glasses and single-use plastic cups.

Speaking on behalf of all the bars involved, Kivi baar's Kristo Laimaa told ERR News: "We see it as something we can do to help against destroying nature, and another big motivator is keeping our hometown's streets cleaner.

"Reusable cups will definitely help us use less plastic — the first few weeks of the new system has already shown us this. Since cups cost €2 to rent, people won't leave them lying around the streets, so the loss of cups is much lower than before."

The bars started with 10,000 cups and said so far the scheme has proved popular with customers.  

"First impressions are very good; people have received the new system very well," Laimaa said.

He also said feedback from customers has been positive: "Because reusable cups have been very popular at big events, such as music festivals, people were already familiar with the idea, and that made it easier for us to implement the new system."

He also said that the system could be expanded to include more bars in the future.

Recently it was announced that single-use plastic cutlery, plates and cups will be banned at outdoor events in Tallinn.

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