Australians consume about 100,000 cups of coffee every hour
and use 1 BILLION take-away hot drink cups every year. According to
Sustainability Victoria, if we lined up all the coffee cups that Australians
used each year, it would stretch around the globe TWICE!
But I can just recycle my take-away coffee cup, right?
Not really. Most plastic lids on the coffee cups are
recyclable but the cup itself is usually lined with plastic making it impossible
to recycle.
So, if you use a take-away cup, when you are done make sure
you separate the lid for recycling and pop the cup in the general rubbish.
What about compostable take-away cups?
There are take-away cups available that are compostable, HOWEVER
these are only compostable in a commercial or well-managed home compost (they
need a high temperature to biodegrade properly). If these cups are put into
landfill, they will take at least 40 years to break down.
So what’s a coffee addict to do?
There’s a couple of options:
- Use reusable cups – we’ve all seen them and
chances are you have a couple in your cupboard. Just like remembering your
reusable bags, try to make a habit of taking your coffee cup with you – or have
one in the car, and office.
- Stay and drink in – make your coffee ritual your
time to unwind by sitting to drink in – not only are you reducing landfill,
chances are you will make some human connections, have some conversations.
- Choose responsible cafes – many local cafes will
give a discount for those who BYO cup – search for these on
responsiblecafes.org and support our local businesses who are supporting
sustainability.
Plasticwise Bright will be holding a mug library at
the September Make It, Bake It, Grow It Market. If you don’t have or
have forgotten your reusable mug for your market coffee – pick one up from us!
No need to worry about sorting your take-away cup into landfill and recycling –
simply return your borrowed mug to us and we will wash and dry it for the next
person to use!