Calls for ‘latte levy’ as coffee cups named Dublin’s biggest litter problem
The collapse of the reusable coffee cups scheme sends a ‘worrying signal’ for sustainability initiatives.
That’s according to the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey , which investigated the cleanliness of 40 towns and cities across the country. While Dublin showed major improvements across the board, coffee cups stood out as the most common form of litter and were evident in one fifth of all sites surveyed.
One measure to tackle this all too prevalent form of litter is encouraging the use of reusable cups, whether through things like the Co-Cup Deposit and Return Scheme or simply getting discounts at coffee shops when customers bring their own KeepCup. However, the IBAL survey reveals this has not eliminated the problem and further government intervention may be needed.
“A real disappointment in a generally positive year has been the likely collapse of reusable coffee cup schemes in towns such as Killarney,” said IBAL’s Conor Horgan. “It is apparent that such schemes will only work with statutory backing. As our data today bears out, without Government intervention coffee cups will remain an unsightly and entirely unnecessary blot on the landscape across our towns.
While plenty of coffee shops offer small discounts to those who bring their own cups, many believe this needs to go much further. A levy on coffee cups , similar to plastic bags, has been planned for years, but it has yet to be implemented.
“The prevarication from Government on the issue is striking - a levy was promised all of four years ago - and sends out a worrying signal. Weaning ourselves off single-use coffee cups should not be such a big deal.” Mr Horgan explained.
This 'latte levy' would charge customers around 20 cent per cup, which experts believe will go a long way toward addressing the up to 500,000 cups that are dumped per day. Although there is a fear that this levy could negatively impact already struggling businesses.
Some businesses have addressed this problem by providing customers with biodegradable cups, which acts as an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. However, this only highlights wider problems with Ireland’s waste management, as general bins around towns and cities don’t utilize the three-bin system, meaning customers who throw their cups away while out and about are not able to recycle them.
Green Party Councillor for Clontarf Donna Cooney spoke about these issues during a debate on Newstalk’s Lunchtime Live and said that the plastic bags levy, which was introduced in 2002, saw a major shift in customer behaviour. She explained it’s likely the same would happen with coffee cups.
“It’s definitely made a change as most people bring their own shopping bags now, and if they forget they buy a reusable one and use it again,” Cllr Cooney said. “People will be saying ‘why would I pay 20 cent more when I can use this reusable cup.’”
Cllr Cooney highlighted a pilot scheme in Malahide and Rush in partnership with VYTAL and Fingal County Council that offered a more customer friendly means of embracing reusable cups. This saw customers get a reusable cup from their local coffee shop and have 14 days to return it, not just to the place they bought it from, but to any participating coffee shop.
“There’s an app on your phone and if you bring them back within 14 days you don’t get charged. You can pop them back to the vendor, and if you’re walking along you can just bring them to another vendor, “ Cllr Cooney said. “Malahide and Rush brought it in in May, they’re doing a trial and it seems to be working well.”
With up 22,000 cups sent to the landfill or incinerated per hour in Ireland, it is clear action is needed to protect the environment. Although entrenched customer habits are very difficult to change, initiatives like the plastic bag levy, smoking ban, and bottles return scheme prove it is possible.
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme