Santa Cruz Has a Waste Problem. We Built the Fix.

Revida founder Alex Ponik makes the case for a fully managed reusable cup service that helps Santa Cruz events, venues, and workplaces cut single-use waste and costs without changing operations. Revida presents at SCWorks New Tech on October 7, 2026. Article subitted by Alex Ponik, Founder — Revida Reuse

The Problem

Every festival, concert, workplace and community event has the same operational challenge: people need cups, drinks need to be served, and thousands of cups become trash every day in Santa Cruz.  The U.S. food service industry purchases nearly 11 trillion disposable foodware items every year — cups, plates, cutlery, containers. The industry spends $24 billion on products that are used for minutes and thrown away. Only 1% of cups globally are recycled. The other 99% go to landfill.

Revida enables event organizers and our community to replace single-use cups with a simple system to make reuse the norm.

The problem isn’t the cup. It’s the system.

Our cups are rated for 500 reuses. Life cycle assessment studies show that reusable cups outperform single-use on environmental impact after as few as 8 uses. Studies show that switching to reuse reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50% compared to single-use packaging. The environment isn’t the only compelling reason to reuse.

The economics back it up. Businesses that switch to reusables save an average of $3,000–$22,000 per year in packaging costs — and break even on the investment  within 1 to 6 months, 100% of the time.

Reuse works. The missing piece has always been a fully managed service that venues can plug into without changing how they operate. That’s what Revida provides.

What Revida Does

Revida runs a fully managed reusable cup and foodware service for events, venues, and large workplaces. We own and manage the entire cup inventory. We handle inventory tracking, washing, quality control, return bin placement, logistics, and monthly environmental social governance (ESG) reporting. The venue doesn’t change a thing — same workflow for staff, same experience for guests. Zero capital outlay.

Santa Cruz Roots

Revida is a Santa Cruz company built for Santa Cruz venues — this is our community, and we’re investing in it. We believe local businesses can lead the way on sustainability without sacrificing operational simplicity or the guest experience.

Partner With Us

We are actively partnering with Santa Cruz venues, events, and workplaces right now. If you run events or manage a venue and want to eliminate single-use waste — without adding operational burden — we’d love to talk.

Less waste. Same experience. Let’s leave Santa Cruz better than we found it.