Plastic Free North Devon are calling on the community to sign this petition to object to the installation of a Costa takeaway coffee machine in Braunton Tesco. 

We believe that this installation will have a detrimental impact on our environment and local community.

Why do we object to this machine being installed?? 

1) Increase in use of single-use plastic cups and diversion from our community REFILL push

Local independent cafe 51 Degrees North Coffee Co (who rent a unit around the corner from Tesco) have worked really hard to completely remove single use cups from their business and are currently working with us on providing a toolkit to get the rest of Braunton and Croyde to follow suit. We work tirelessly to provide tools for the community to band together to do the right thing and drive sustainable behaviour change; this sort of move is sending us in the opposite direction.

In addition to providing single use cups, the machines do not offer concessions for people who do bring their own reusable cup, so there will be little or no incentive for members of the public to do so.

2) Negative impact on local businesses

Braunton has 12 independent cafes, and the installation of another 'convenient' option for people to use whilst doing their shopping could stop them from stopping in the village or going around the corner to other cafes close by.   Tesco Braunton is a friendly, community based store, and we do not believe that this move reflects the values of our community in any way.

3) Increased amount of single use waste and pollution

Coca-Cola, the parent company of Costa, was again identified for the second time running as the biggest plastic pollution source during the brand audits carried out as part of Surfers Against Sewage beach, river and street cleans during 2021-2022 . We do not want to perpetuate this or allow for the company responsible to put a service in place that will further add to these levels of pollution. We need to turn the tap off.

4) Does not contribute to our local economy 

Money earned from this service will go directly into shareholders’ pockets. Coffee delivered by Costa is not sourced from South West roasters, unlike many of our independent cafes. It does not provide employment for local people or support any local suppliers.

With a looming recession and cost of living crisis contributing to a tightening of people’s wallets, we should be doing everything we can to support our local businesses to alleviate the impact this will have.

Braunton Tesco presents itself as a friendly, community focused store. Over the years the staff  have done much for the local community. We believe this decision goes against the values that Braunton Tesco have previously promoted. The store itself sits at the heart of the North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere  and is the main store that serves most of the beaches within the newly declared North Devon World Surf Reserve. The region is a very special place where people feel connected to the environment and have a yearning desire to protect the place they live, work and play in.

We believe that the Braunton community are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with this campaign to reverse Tesco's decision to install this machine.