Govt Urged To Ban Non-Compostable Coffee Cups

The government has been urged to ban non-compostable coffee cups in tandem with introducing the "latte levy".

Labour Party Environment spokesperson, Senator Ivana Bacik, made the call as major retailer, Argos, saw a huge surge of people buying re-usable travel cups in Ireland. They estimate that there was a 537 per cent year on increase of sales in the products.

Senator Bacik said: "As well as introducing a levy on takeaway coffee cups, which the Labour Party proposed in our alternative budget, the Government should consider implementing the Waste Reduction Bill which passed second stage in the Dáil in the summer.

"A levy without an overall plan to ban non-compostable coffee cups lacks long-term vision from the Government.

"The surge in sales of re-usable travel cups shows that people are changing their behaviour when it comes to takeaway coffee cups. People are becoming more conscious of the waste that paper cups create.

"Many coffee shops are to be commended for introducing discounts for those who use reusable cups. This is another incentive for consumers to invest in travel cups.

"Tackling waste is as important a part of the green agenda as shifting to carbon-free fuels. In the Dáil we recently co-sponsored, with the Green Party, their Waste Reduction Bill to ban the use of non-compostable coffee cups and food and to introduce, from 2020, a recycling charge for plastic and glass bottles as well as aluminium cans."

(MH/LM)