Liberal Democrats Urge Disposable Coffee Cup Charge

02 Sep 2016 --- The UK Liberal Democrat party is calling for a five pence charge on disposable coffee cups to cut usage - and they are starting by charging at the forthcoming party conference. 

Following on from Britain’s plastic bag charge, which has lead to a dramatic drop in usage, the party is urging a similar charge on coffee cups.

The plastic bag charge had shown more than an 85 percent reduction and if the a coffee cup charge had the same impact there would be two billion fewer cups used every year, according to the Lib Dems. 

Hot drinks on sale at the Liberal Democrat party conference in Brighton later this month will come with a five pence extra charge as the party puts “their beliefs into action.” 

“Throwaway cups are a threat to wildlife and the environment and its high time the Government stepped in to reduce the amount of waste created each year. I want to see a culture shift towards bringing your own cup for a refill, rather than buying cups which are often non-recyclable and then throwing them away. Liberal Democrats brought in the plastic bag charge and it’s been proven highly successful – coffee cups are the next logical step,” says Liberal Democrat Leader, Tim Farron MP.

The issue has been debated recently, further prompted by a campaign led by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in his BBC TV show Hugh’s War on Waste. Approximately 2.5 billion cups are thrown away every year in the UK, with a very small proportion recycled. 

“We’ve seen how dramatically a small charge has affected public behavior when it comes to the plastic bags and it's clearly time to extend it to coffee cups. Most people purchase a tea or coffee and throw away the cup without even thinking about it, but a charge would increase our awareness of the environmental impact,” says Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, Kate Parminter.

"Protecting our environment has to be a priority of government, with more investment in recycling and a move towards generating less waste - the Conservative government has shown no desire to deliver this and has failed to build on the work we achieved in Government. This has to change.”