Coffee News

As we get up to face the day many of us will pop into the local cafe to get a morning boost of coffee, some will bring their own cup while others will accept a disposal coffee cup but be prepared for a change!

Ossian Smyth, Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement, eGovernment and Circular Economy has said a proposed €0.20 levy on single-use coffee cups is due before year-end. The change is designed to ease people off single-use disposal cups and switch to reusable keep cups.

In a further step, disposable coffee cups will no longer be an option for sit-in customers at cafes and restaurants? This change will come into place over the next few months and will be complemented by the introduction of a 20c levy on disposable coffee cups

Will it encourage more people to choose reusable alternatives like a keep cup? Will it work?

Do’s and Don’t

As is normal some interested parties say coffee consumers won’t change coffee drinking habits while others say it is a step on the road to becoming greener and producing less paper and plastic waste.

Some industry stakeholders say “keep cups” will also end up as waste but having asked friends and around work, people have been using the same keep cups for 5 or 6 years and they still work perfectly!

The Department of Environment said nearly 200 million coffee cups are sent to landfills or incinerators each year in Ireland.  They say the proceeds from the 20c levy per cup will be ringfenced into a Circular Economy Fund for environmental and climate projects. 

The department wants to “make Ireland the first country in the world to eradicate disposable coffee cups,” Is this a worthwhile goal? What do you think?

Government

Minister of State for Communications and Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth, say this initiative is very similar to the plastic bag levy.” “People will remember when that came in, we were using a giant number of plastic bags and after the levy came in, the reduction was 95% in the use of plastic bags.” The plastic bag levy, introduced in 2002 in Ireland, requires shops to charge €0.22 for a plastic shopping bag. 

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said, “we need to re-think the way we interact with the goods and materials we use every day” to reach net-zero emissions.

Rethink

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle but first Rethink. We can all rethink and it will really make a difference not just in terms of resources, the environment, waste collection and waste processing but also by reducing visible waste in cities, towns and recreational areas like beaches and playgrounds. Think about the visible waste created by disposal cups and how bringing your own cup can help!

About Recycle IT

Recycle IT is an award-winning social enterprise providing recycling collection and drop-off services for all types of waste electrical, electronic equipment (WEEE) and pure metal items.

Recycle IT services are provided in partnership with WEEE Ireland. Recycle IT is supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development, Dormant Accounts Fund, Pobal, South Dublin County Council and authorized by the National Waste Collection Permit Office and the local authorities across Leinster.

For further details about our free and cost-effective services call us on 01 4578321, email info@recycleit.ie or visit the Recycle IT website at www.recycleit.ie