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Why can’t we recycle coffee cups like we recycle plastic bags?

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We’ve reduced plastic bag waste – let’s do the same for coffee cup waste and recycle takeaway coffee cups.

Coffee chains are being hypocritcal when they claim their cups are recyclable.

Most cups end up in landfill – fewer than 1 in 400 is recycled

Sign our Coffee Cup petition

Some coffee cups end up blowing around our streets, littering our beautiful countryside, or adding to the huge volumes of waste swirling around our oceans.

Some estimates are putting the number of cups we dispose of at least 2.5 billion cups a year. That’s an enormous volume.

Part of the problem is the polyethylene coating inside the cups that sticks to the paper part of the cup.

This makes it challenging, but not impossible, to recycle.

It really shouldn’t be that difficult to make such an every-day item easily recyclable and recycled

The reality is that coffee on the go is part of life for many of us now.

We’re not going to work shorter hours, turn our backs on the now common-place coffee shop, and return to taking tea at home.

We aren’t likely to drink less coffee.

So we need coffee shops to sell tea and coffee in recyclable cups.

And we need them to provide us with recycling bins inside and outside their stores.

Even better, they should give us a big discount for using our own reusable mugs.

These chains are being hypocritical when they claim their cups are recyclable, when in practice they can’t yet be recycled in Britain, at least not in any quantity.

It’s good that the government is thinking about doing something about coffee cups.

But at the same time it’s disappointing that the Chancellor is reducing recycling targets.

What do you think?

Should consumers take more responsibility?

Do you wonder why some cafes have just one bin?

We think the big chains should come up with a solution.

That’s why we’ve launched a petition asking the government to:

  • reward us for taking our own mugs to a cafe
  • ban takeaway cups that can’t be recycled
  • force big coffee chains to provide recycling bins.

Sign our petition, below,

Sign our Coffee Cup petition

This blog was first published on 29 March 2016. Updated by Mike Childs, 29th July 2016

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