It’s hard to walk into a cafe now without feeling the sinking shame of having forgotten your reusable cup. And fair enough, Australians throw out 2.7 million single-use or disposable coffee cups every single day. This adds up to nearly 1 billion coffee cups every year, most of which end up in landfill.

Melbourne-based start-up, Good Edi, is looking to change all that with their edible coffee cups. Made of a mixture of oats, grains and just a pinch of sugar, the edible cups are perfect for when you’re in a pinch and are looking to reduce your carbon footprint.

Founded in 2021 by colleagues Aniyo Rahebi and Catherine Hutchins, who were sick of seeing Melbourne bins overflowing with single-use coffee cups, the pair crowdfunded their campaign for change and raised $148,000 to back their initiative.

After hundreds of hours in the kitchen and close to 250 recipe adjustments with their team of bakers, Hutchins and Rahebi now produce around 500 cups a day for clients across Australia including roasteries, music venues, and coffee shops.

Related story: These newly opened lodges have been called Australia’s most sustainable 

The cups – which stay crisp for about 40 minutes with hot drinks in them, and won’t leak for eight hours with cold drinks – retail for around $5.50 and can be ordered in individual cups, as a pack of six, or in bulk packs of 100.

Good Edi cups are made from a blend of rye flour, oat bran, wheat bran, salt, sugar, coconut oil and water and are completely vegan friendly. For a luxurious treat, you can even buy them dipped in chocolate. Even the Good Edi chocolate cups are fine for vegans (and everyone else). If you don’t fancy chowing down on your coffee cup, no worries – the Edi cups can be tossed into the bin and will break down in two weeks, can be put straight into the compost, and can even be used to pot your plants straight into the ground for added nutrients.

Related story: 25 addictive desserts for the coffee fiend

Good Edi cups can be ordered and stockists can be found via their website good-edi.com