Incentives could see 300m fewer coffee cups discarded
Incentives could reduce the number of coffee cups discarded in the UK each year by 50m-300m, according to a study by Cardiff University for coffee roaster Bewley’s. Around 2.5bn disposable cups are used annually in the UK, causing 25,000 tonnes of waste. A 25p charge on disposable items would increase the usage of reusable containers by 3.4%. Messages about the environment would increase usage by 2.3%, the availability of reusable cups would lead to a 2.5% rise, whilst free reusable cups cause a further increase of 4.3%. But when all the measures are combined, use of reusable cups surges to 17.4%.

The use of disposable coffee cups could be reduced by 50 – 300 million annually according to research announced by leading coffee roaster Bewley’s.

An estimated 2.5bn disposable coffee cups are used in the UK each year, creating approximately 25,000 tonnes of waste.

The research, conducted from September to December 2016 by Cardiff University on behalf of Bewley’s tested a range of measures that could encourage the use of re-usable coffee cups.

The research found that financial incentives, re-usable alternatives, and clear messaging reminding customers of the environmental impact of single use coffee cups all had a direct impact on consumer behaviour.

The study found that a charge on disposable cups increased the use of re-usable coffee cups by 3.4%, environmental messaging in cafes increased the use of re-usable coffee cups by 2.3%, the availability of re-usable cups led to an increase of 2.5%, and the distribution of free re-usable cups led to a further increase of 4.3 %.

Commenting on the results, author of the report Professor Wouter Poortinga, from the Welsh School of Architecture, said: “While the increases for individual measures were modest, the greatest behavioural change was when the measures were combined.”

300 million coffee cups