Since reusable cups were banned from cafes during the pandemic, many people have stopped carrying them around. And in December 2021, Sustainability Victoria reported that one billion disposable coffee cups are thrown in the bin every year – that’s 2.7 million every single day. Something has to change.
When Keepcup produced its first reusable cup back in 2009, a big part of our role was educating people around the non-recyclability of disposable cups and the hazard this poses to the global ecosystem. Thirteen years on, the harms of single-use plastics may be better understood, but plastic production has still doubled in the last decade.
It’s part of a bigger issue, of course. This month, nearly 200 nations at the UN Environment Assembly unanimously agreed to create an intergovernmental committee to negotiate and finalise a legally binding plastics treaty by 2024. It’s a landmark decision that covers the full supply chain, from creation of new plastic products to the microplastics we breathe daily.
I believe that charging customers a little bit more when ordering coffee in disposable cups is a great way to normalise the use of reusables once again. It wouldn’t need to be by much – say 40 or 50 cents – but it would make someone stop and think about what they are doing in much the same way as supermarkets have broken habits by charging shoppers for single-use plastic bags. It would also be an act of solidarity with customers helping to fight the climate crisis by making sustainable decisions every single day.
And while we’ve certainly made headway – 41 per cent of Keepcup customers go out of their way to avoid a throwaway, either by refusing a drink or dining in – we’ve still got a long way to go to change habits.
This approach can also be a big saving. Cafes serving 500 takeaway coffees in reusable cups per week could save 18.42 kilograms of carbon dioxide, 11.25 kilograms of timber and $100 in single-use cups.
We know Australia’s hospitality industry has suffered greatly during the pandemic, but we need to bring back the momentum we had around changing people’s behaviour once more – and reduce the damage caused to the environment by using disposable cups.
Why the “small act” of switching to reusables has a big impact
By introducing a charge on all single-use packaging, cafes can signal an effective reminder that we need to change our behaviour. Zero Waste Scotland research shows that a small additional cost has been more effective than discounts in encouraging the take-up of reusable cups.
The Keepcup Reuser Survey, published in January 2022, confirms these types of sustainable practices can become a way of life for many people: the vast majority of respondents said they regularly use reusable shopping bags (97.8 per cent), coffee cups (96.4 per cent) and water bottles (94.4 per cent), for example.
Whether it’s reusable coffee cups, beeswax food wraps or bamboo toilet paper, the market is awash with sustainable products which are actually far more convenient and cost-effective than their disposable equivalents. All it takes is one small change to ignite a series of adjustments in a daily routine.
What can customers do?
Every week, organisations pledge a commitment to reaching net-zero emissions, but how many are walking the walk?
The IPCC’s recent report shows that many of the impacts of global heating are now irreversible – and more than 40 per cent of the world’s population is highly vulnerable to the threats of the climate crisis. Additionally, last month’s New Climate Institute and Carbon Market Watch report revealed the climate pledges of most multinational firms cannot be taken at face value.
It highlighted the severity of the greenwashing issue. So with all these greenwashing messages, is a small change all that significant? I think so.
But we also need to expect more and hold relevant parties to account. Beyond opting for reusable cups or bottles, consumers can challenge greenwashing by asking the right questions. (It seems simple, but too few of us actually do it.) Ask your local cafe why it’s not charging customers for disposable cups; ask your workplace about renewable energy; ask your bank where it’s investing your money. These seemingly small acts will start to put pressure on different parts of the economy and community, which helps our journey to a more sustainable, renewable-powered future.
In the meantime, the prospect of slightly more expensive coffee will nudge us in the right direction when it comes to reusables and reminding us of the cost associated with our single-use behaviour.
