Pret A Manger customers to get 50p discount if they bring their own mugs

UK consumers use 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every year - or 5,000 every minute

Water stations will be tried out in Pret's veggie stores, followed by its Manchester branches (Getty)

Pret A Manger customers can now get a 50p discount on the price of hot drinks if they bring their own mug as the sandwich chain bids to reduce waste.

The move doubles the 25p discount that Pret introduced last year for those who choose not to use disposable paper cups. The company said it hoped the improved offer would “help change habits”.

Chief executive Clive Schlee tweeted on Tuesday: “I'm delighted you can now get 50p off a hot drink when you bring your reusable cup to Pret. I hope this will make a difference.”

The company also said it would look to introduce better-designed reusable cups that would be more easily recycled and may add more china cups in some shops.

A survey by ICM earlier this year suggested that, across the UK, just one in 400 single-use cups is recycled because the waterproof plastic lining is difficult to separate from the external paper layer.

There are currently just two UK processing centres capable of separating the paper and plastic components - part of the reason why so few cups are recycled.

Most cups are not made from recycled materials in the first place, because the need for waterproofing means new paper pulp is used.

Academics at Cardiff University estimated that UK consumers use 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every year - or 5,000 every minute.

In 2016, rival chain Starbucks scrapped its own 50p discount for customers who bring their own cup just three months after it was introduced.

Pret’s increased incentive to reduce waste comes after MPs recommended last month that the Government introduce charges as well as a deposit scheme for single-use plastic bottles.

The Environmental Audit Committee called for a “polluter pays” principle to be introduced for plastic packaging. Just 10 per cent of the estimated cost of recycling the plastic is estimated to be covered by those who produce and sell it, the committee wrote.

Chancellor Philip Hammond signalled support for taxes or charges on single-use plastics in his November Budget.

Concern about plastic pollution in the oceans has risen in recent months, partly in response to the BBC’s Blue Planet II, which highlighted the widespread damage caused to marine wildlife.