Plastic, single use coffee cups and lids are a massive litter and waste problem in Australia, and have been for the past 30 years so must be banned, according to a spokesperson from the Boomerang Alliance of 55 environment NGOs. With over 1.8 billion coffee cups and lids littered or landfilled every year, it’s urgent to make the switch to reusables.
‘’We are proposing a national policy to Environment Ministers, based upon actions already being taken overseas making reusable coffee cups and lids commonplace. We want to see plastic coffee cups phased out in Australia by 2024, every cafe offering or selling reusable cups and lids and a levy imposed on all disposable coffee cups and lids,’’ said Toby Hutcheon, National Campaign Manager.
‘’Already, some states are moving with Western Australia banning plastic coffee cups in 2023 and Queensland also promising action. Our plan is practical with a transitional pathway and takes the move national.”
In the next two years plastic coffee cups and lids will be subjected to new rules around being banned across the European Union and the UK. They are widely recognised as a waste and litter problem across Europe. Some countries such as Germany are introducing laws that require all cafes offer or sell reusable cups and lids. Other countries are planning a levy on all disposable cups and lids. Fast food chains such as Starbucks are introducing reusable coffee cups in all their European restaurants (and in other parts of the world, but not Australia).
‘’There have been false claims made against the use of BYO coffee cups under COVID restrictions. However, making the switch to reusable coffee cups and lids is one of the most obvious, safe options anyone concerned with plastic pollution and litter prevention can make. What we need is for all our governments not just to support reusables as they all do, but to actively intervene to get action,’’ Hutcheon said.
More about the Alliance’s position on the future of coffee cups and lids can be found here.