International Coffee Day: How are coffee chains in the UK tackling plastic waste?

A recent report found that the UK throws away 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every year

Plastic pollution is becoming an increasing concern as emerging research continues to show just how much damage it’s doing to our planet.

Hence many of us are looking for ways to tweak our daily routines in order to reduce our plastic usage, and a number of UK coffee chains are aiding the transition.

Boston Tea Party and AMT Coffee are just two of the companies implementing measures to encourage customers to use less plastic in the last few months, and major chains have been offering a discount to those who bring in reusable cups for years.

Such measures are now more necessary than ever before, with a report from the Environmental Audit Committee last year stating that the UK throws away 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every year, and less than one per cent of those are recycled.

The findings led to calls for the government to introduce a 25p latte levy on disposable coffee cups, which some chains have since adopted - despite ministers rejecting the proposal.

We clearly have a long way to go, but progress is slowly being made. Here’s what coffee chains in the UK are doing to combat plastic pollution now.

Pret A Manger

The popular sandwich and coffee chain offers 50p off the price of their hot drinks to customers who use bring their own disposable cups, making it one of the highest discounts around.

On its website, the company outlines its global plastic pledge, which states that by 2025 it aims to make all of its packaging 100 per cent recyclable, reusable or compostable.

It has also promised to eliminate all unnecessary single-use plastic and help customers recycle in its stores within this time frame.

Costa Coffee

The UK’s largest coffee shop company has promised to recycle as many cups as it sells by 2020, which would surmount to roughly half a billion coffee cups a year.

In order to achieve this goal, Costa has partnered with an independent waste management service company called Valpak.

The company also offers a 25p discount to customers who bring in a reusable cup.

Boston Tea Party

The independent Bristol-based coffee chain introduced a ban on disposable coffee cups in April 2018.

Customers must either bring a reusable cup, drink their coffee inside or pay a deposit on a cup they then have to return to any branch.

But Boston Tea Party’s sustainable ambitions have had economic consequences.

Owner Sam Roberts recently announced that the company’s takeaway coffee sales had fallen by 25 per cent since imposing the ban. But Roberts has insisted that despite losing what equates to roughly £250,000 in sales, the ban still stands.

AMT Coffee

In November last year, the coffee chain announced the launch of 100 per cent bio-compostable coffee cups made from sugar cane crop.

The chain, which has more than 50 stores in UK train stations, launched the cups ahead of the festive period, with each bearing the slogan “Let’s make the change”.

“This is by far the greenest and best alternative to the traditional plastic-lined cup and plastic lid, served by many other coffee retailers which take decades to break down,” reads a statement on the company’s website.

“The revolutionary technology will help tackle an estimated 2.5 billion coffee cups sent to waste every year and will help save countless amounts of trees.”

Starbucks

The American coffee company offers UK customers a 25p discount on hot drinks if they bring their own reusable cup.

As of July 2018, Starbucks has also been rolling out a 5p charge on disposable cups at stores around the UK. It’s already in place at 35 London stores.

“The aim was to see what impact a charge might have on customers choosing to use a reusable and reduce single-use paper cups,” the company explains on its website.

The company has also teamed up with environmental-focused investment firm Closed Loop Partners to develop a more eco-friendly takeaway cup.

Caffe Nero

Caffe Nero has had a partnership with reusable cup company KeepCup for years, putting them on display in its stores in a bid to encourage customers to purchase one and bring it back each time they buy a coffee.

Those who do will receive a bonus stamp on their loyalty cards, bringing them one step closer to earning a free coffee.

In June 2018, it expanded this to ensure that KeepCups were available in all of its stores around the UK.

Caffe Nero has also replaced its plastic straws with paper straws in all of its UK coffee houses, which it claims will remove at least seven million plastic straws a year from entering UK waste streams.