Single use cups are well and truly on the political agenda following a call from MPs for a 'Latte Levy' last week.
Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, is setting his own example (admittedly following criticism last month for using a takeaway cup) by proudly parading his reusable Ecoffee Cup yesterday outside number 10.
Ecoffee Cup founder David McLagan, who has been fighting the coffee cup waste corner since the company's inception in 2014, applauds Gove's example. The company set up its #stopthe100billion campaign precisely to raise awareness of the cause, effect real change in the way we consume coffee and help tackle the ever growing issue of single use packaging waste going to landfill.
Following the news of a possible 'Latte Levy' last week, the coffee cup waste issue is showing no signs of letting up, with hope that the PM is also taking note with her vow yesterday to end the 'throwaway culture'.
David McLagan comments: “Having previously thrown out similar initiatives in the past, the call from MPs for a coffee cup tax is fantastic news. The hope is that this time it actually comes to something…
“With awareness of the single-use coffee cup waste issue growing rapidly, and consumers admitting they would be happy to pay a charge, it is high time for government to sit up and listen. Policy has to be dramatically altered if we are to effectively change the mind-set of the coffee-consuming public.
“Following the huge success of the 5p plastic bag charge, a coffee cup levy is the obvious and necessary next step and will go a long way in changing attitudes and behaviours, by incentivising people to bring their own mugs.
“Recycling is simply not the answer. Reuse is.
“So few facilities are currently available to manage the recycling of disposable cups due to the highly complex task of separating the plastic from the paper, and with 100 billion single-use takeaway cups going to landfill globally each year - that's 273,972,603 coffee cups every single day – the time for action is most definitely now.
“Consumers, coffee chains and governments must all act in unison in order to reduce the volumes of coffee cups going to landfill.”