Ban single-use coffee cups for takeaway in restaurants, cafes and bars

Every year, the UK gets through an estimated 2.5 billion ‘disposable’ coffee cups. Less than 1% are recycled.

In 2018, Boston Tea Party decided that we didn’t want to contribute to those ugly stats. We banned single-use coffee cups, and we’re now asking for your support to urge the government to tackle this single-use coffee cup crisis.

The government have already banned single-use plastic cutlery and polystyrene cups and food containers. This is a great step forward, but it’s not enough.

96% of single-use coffee cups end up in landfill. Many people believe that single-use coffee cups can be widely recycled, and dispose of them in on-street recycling bins.  However all single-use coffee cups have a lining, which cannot be removed by most recycling facilities. This creates a problem for local authorities – and taxpayers are covering 90% of the cost of collecting, sorting, and disposing of coffee cups that end up in the wrong waste streams.

Plastic is affecting our health, too. In 2018, a study by the University of Exeter found that 86 per cent of teenagers have traces of Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical compound used to make plastics and found in single-use coffee cups, in their body. On top of this, every year, 2 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean, washed down from rivers.

As well as Choosing to Reuse at BTP, there have been several trials run that prove a ban works. But it will take change on a national level to turn the tide. For too long, making the right choice has been up to individuals, local areas, and coffee shops. We need the government to act to create long lasting and effective change.

Join us in calling on Rt Hon Steve Reed to demand that single-use coffee cups are banned in the UK.

Read more about our campaign here

Reusable Coffee Cup Trials and Schemes:

Several local areas have taken matters into their own hands and have run their own trials. In July 2023, Killarney in Ireland phased out single-use coffee cups. Over 70 cafes or hotels now only accept reusable cups, or customers can borrow a cup for a refundable €2 deposit. The scheme has been well-received and already saved 1 million single-use cups from landfill, demonstrating the power of widespread change.

The Eden Project, Cornwall, and Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, have joined forces and completely banned single-use cups on their sites. Since the project began, Blenheim Palace have seen an impressive cup 90% return rate for their reusable cup scheme.

In 2023, the French Government passed a law prohibiting large restaurants from offering food in single-use boxes, or single-use cutlery, when customers are eating in.