British lawmakers are calling for a tax on disposable coffee cups sold at retail establishments in a bid to reduce litter and refuse sent to landfills. The U.K. parliament's Environmental Audit Committee wants a so-called "latte levy" of 25 pence (about 33 cents) slapped on each cup sold, with the idea being to encourage coffee consumers to bring their own reusable cups. 
 
 "The UK throws away 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every year -- that's enough to circle the planet five and a half times," admonished committee chair Mary Creagh, according to CBS News partner network BBC News. 
 
 "Almost none are recycled and half a million a day are littered. Coffee cup producers and distributors have not taken action to rectify this and government has sat on its hands. The UK's coffee shop market is expanding rapidly, so we need to kick start a revolution in recycling." 
 
 The government, led by Prime Minister Theresa May, expressed agreement that more measures were needed to reduce the amount of plastic waste discarded in Britain, but said it would wait to see evidence on the efficacy of such taxes on single-use packaging. 
 
 One of the world's biggest coffee retailers wasn't waiting, however. Starbucks said it would begin applying a more modest 5 pence per-cup charge in a couple dozen of its London stores in February. The trial was to last three months, and Starbucks noted that it already offers a 25 pence discount to customers who bring in their own cups. 
 
 There is predictable opposition to the idea of a per-disposable cup tax by the people who make such cups in Britain. Mike Turner, of the Paper Cup Alliance, told the BBC that paper cups are the most safe, sustainable solution for Britons to enjoy beverages on the go. 
 
 "The paper cups we manufacture in the UK are sustainably sourced, responsibly produced, recyclable and, through a number of facilities, are being recycled. We are committed to increasing recycling rates," he told the BBC. 
 
 "Taxing the morning coffee run will not address the issue of litter, but it will hurt consumers and impact already struggling High Streets." 
 
 Tim Farron, leader of the U.K.'s Liberal Democrats party, which has long backed such a cup tax, disagrees. 
 
 "I'm glad our call for a coffee cup charge is gaining traction," he said. "The evidence is clear that these levies work -- the 5p charge on plastic bags has massively reduced usage and helped protect our environment." 

 A coffee drinker holds a disposable cup in London on Jan. 5. British lawmakers are considering a 'latte levy' to cut down on coffee cup waste in Britain. 
 
 —Britain should charge a 25 pence ($0.34) "latte levy" on disposable coffee cups to cut down waste and ban them if a recycling target is not met by 2023, a committee of lawmakers said on Friday. 
 
 Less than 1 percent of coffee cups are recycled in Britain because of the tightly bonded plastic liner, the difficulties of recycling packaging which has been in contact with food and drink and a lack of facilities, the lawmakers said. 
 
 Chains Pret A Manger, Costa Coffee, Caffe Nero, and Greggs alongside US firm Starbucks are among the biggest coffee-sellers in Britain and have rapidly expanded in the past 10 years to meet increasing demand. 
 
 Although some outlets give a discount to customers using their own cup, only 1 to 2 percent of buyers take up the offer, according to parliament's environmental audit committee which said a "latte levy" was needed instead. 
 
 "The UK throws away 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every year; enough to circle the planet five and a half times," said chair of the committee, Mary Creagh. 
 
 "We're calling for action to reduce the number of single use cups, promote reusable cups over disposable cups and to recycle all coffee cups by 2023," she said. 
 
 The committee said that money raised by the charge should help improve recycling facilities and if the 2023 target is not met then disposable coffee cups should be banned. 
 
 The Irish parliament is considering banning single-use coffee cups while the German city Hamburg said in 2016 it will no longer use coffeemakers with aluminum capsules in its own offices or buildings. 
 
 In October 2015, Britain introduced a charge of 5 pence on all single-use plastic bags provided by large shops, which led to an 83 percent reduction in plastic bags used in the first year. 
 
 On Friday the environment ministry said the government was working closely with the sector and had made progress in increasing recycling rates. 
 
 "We are encouraged by industry action to increase the recycling of paper cups with some major retail chains now offering discounts to customers with reusable cups," said a ministry spokeswoman. 
 
 "We will carefully consider the committee’s recommendations and respond shortly," she said. 
 
 Caffe Nero said it was working with others to understand and address the issues which prevent the widespread recycling of paper cups. 
 
 Costa Coffee and Greggs said they offered a discount to those using reusable cups but Costa said the government also needed to focus on improving recycling infrastructure. Pret A Manger's customers have benefitted from a 50 pence discount from this week. 
 
 US chain Starbucks will trial a 5 pence levy at up to 25 London branches in February for three months. 
 
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 "We will investigate the impact of a 5p charge on a paper cup, coupled with prominent marketing of reusable cups, on customer behavior," it said in a statement posted on its website. 
 
 This story was reported by Reuters. 

 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Some fear the cost of the levy will be passed on to the consumer 
 
 MPs are calling for a 25p "latte levy" on disposable coffee cups - and a total ban unless recycling improves. 
 
 A report by the Environmental Audit Committee says the tax should be used to improve the UK's recycling and reprocessing facilities. 
 
 The MPs say throwaway cups should be prohibited altogether by 2023 if they are not all being recycled. 
 
 In response, Starbucks said it would try out a 5p cup charge in 20 to 25 central London outlets. 
 
 "We will begin the trial in February and initially it will last for three months," the firm said, adding that it continued to offer a 25p discount to customers who brought their own reusable cups. 
 
 The government agrees plastic waste is a problem and will seek evidence on a tax on single-use plastics. 
 
 'Revolution' needed 
 
 The committee's chair, Mary Creagh MP, said: "The UK throws away 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every year - that's enough to circle the planet five and a half times. 
 
 "Almost none are recycled and half a million a day are littered. Coffee cup producers and distributors have not taken action to rectify this and government has sat on its hands. 
 
 "The UK's coffee shop market is expanding rapidly, so we need to kick start a revolution in recycling." 
 
 The Liberal Democrats said they had been campaigning for a charge on coffee cups since September 2016 and were the only party to include the policy in their 2017 election manifesto. 
 
 The party's environment spokesman, Tim Farron, said: "I'm glad our call for a coffee cup charge is gaining traction. 
 
 "The evidence is clear that these levies work - the 5p charge on plastic bags has massively reduced usage and helped protect our environment." 
 
 The proposed 25p levy is being opposed by the makers of paper cups. 
 
 Mike Turner, of the Paper Cup Alliance, said paper cups were the most sustainable and safe solution for drinks on the go. 
 
 "The paper cups we manufacture in the UK are sustainably sourced, responsibly produced, recyclable and, through a number of facilities, are being recycled. We are committed to increasing recycling rates," he said. 
 
 "Taxing the morning coffee run will not address the issue of litter, but it will hurt consumers and impact already struggling High Streets." 
 
 The MPs point out that while some coffee shops offer discounts for customers who bring their own cup, only 1 to 2% of coffee drinkers respond. 
 
 Following the success of the plastic bag charge, they have concluded that consumers respond more to sticks than to carrots. 
 
 The plastic lining in coffee cups makes them costly to recycle, and the MPs say the businesses supplying and producing them do not bear the full costs of their disposal. 
 
 Disposable coffee cups are technically recyclable, but most are not because the UK has just three facilities that can split the paper and plastic components for recycling. 
 
 The committee has called on the government to require coffee cups from cafes without in-store recycling systems to carry "not widely recycled" labels to increase consumer awareness. Cafes with in-store recycling systems should print their cups with "recyclable in store only", the MPs add. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall backs the 'latte levy' 
 
 The committee's recommendations were welcomed by environmental campaigners. 
 
 Fiona Nicholls from Greenpeace UK, said the problem was getting bigger: "We must not allow the packaging industry to water down these recommendations any further." 
 
 Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, chef and campaigner, said: "The UK has woken up and smelled the coffee cup nightmare. 
 
 "The committee has recognised that the huge mountain of disposable coffee cups is effectively unrecyclable, and is overwhelming and disrupting the nation's waste disposal systems, ultimately polluting our rivers and seas, and needs urgent action." 
 
 The British Coffee Association's Chris Stemman also welcomed the report's broad principles, but said a levy was not the answer. 
 
 "It places an unfair and additional cost on coffee drinking consumers only - despite paper cups only contributing 0.7% of total paper packaging waste," he told BBC News. 
 
 "We urge the government to ensure that if any potential tax is considered, that it is ring-fenced and used specifically to invest in new 'binfrastructure' and to improve recycling processes with local authorities that make it easier to separate and stream paper cups and other waste products." 
 
 Mr Stemman said the industry should continue to focus on other environmental issues such as cutting water use, carbon reduction, and turning waste coffee grounds into biofuel. 
 
 The government plans to produce a new plastics policy later in the year. 
 
 Follow Roger on Twitter: @rharrabin
– A trip to Starbucks could get slightly more expensive for British coffee drinkers. The Christian Science Monitor reports some lawmakers in Britain are recommending a 34-cent "latte levy" on disposable cups." Fewer than 1% of disposable coffee cups in Britain are recycled for a variety of reasons, including the difficulty of recycling products that have plastic liners or have touched food and drink. Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee says the money from the new tax on disposable cups would be used to improve recycling facilities. If recycling goals for disposable cups still aren't met by 2023, the committee says the cups should be outright banned. A spokesperson for Britain's Environment Ministry says it "will carefully consider the committee's recommendation." But the "latte levy" is, obviously, opposed by companies that make disposable cups. "Taxing the morning coffee run will not address the issue of litter, but it will hurt consumers and impact already struggling High Streets," Mike Turner of the Paper Cup Alliance tells the BBC. He says the industry is working to increase recycling rates. Meanwhile, Starbucks is going to test out its own disposable cup surcharge in a few dozen London locations to see if it causes more customers to bring their own reusable cups, CBS News reports. Starbucks, like other chains, offers a discount to customers who bring their own cups, but the Environmental Audit Committee says only 1% to 2% of customers actually do so.