In Australia there’s three billion takeaway coffee cups which go to waste – a thin plastic coating on the inside means they’re difficult to recycle.
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However, some of Orange’s coffee drinkers are making a switch and bringing their own cups.
Horticulturalist Rene Reimers is one of the people getting behind re-usable cups and said environmental protection was important.
“People are bit more environmentally conscious, if somebody doesn’t do it, nobody is going to do it,” Mr Reimers said.
“We’ve just got to get out of habits like needing plastic bags.”
Mr Reimers said having a re-usable cup is a useful addition and each morning he grabs the keys, wallet and cup.
“The challenge is making sure it’s clean, as opposed to having the convenience of throwing (a cup) out afterwards.”
Soho Cafe’s manager Damien Parson said up to 20 customers a day were bringing in their own cups.
“It varies each day, it’s a good thing, it’s saving the environment slowly,” Mr Parsons said.
He said it wasn’t something the cafe had promoted but was driven by customers.
“A lot of office workers come in with their own cups, and it means they don’t have to find a bin,” Mr Parsons said.
Good Eddy owner Toby Howell said the cafe had restocked the re-usable cups they sell three times due to demand.
Mr Howell said the cafe offered a small discount but the change had come from customers.
“People have seen the show and thought they needed to do something,” he said.
Venue Cafe and Bar’s Jo Woolfe said re-usable cups had exploded in popularity this year.
“Ever since the War on Waste has been on television, we’ve had a lot of people come in with re-usuable coffee cups,” Venue Cafe and Bar’s Jo Woolfe said.
“A lot of customers have realised there’s a plastic film in the coffee cup which can’t be recycled,” Ms Woolfe said.
Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange’ (ECCO) president Nick King said people switching away from disposable cups was a small way to help.
“We’ve got to look at what’s in our sphere of influence. It’s hard to change the habits of a lifetime, but it’s a place to start,” Mr King said.
“Thinking globally is overwhelming, but if we look at how we can cut cups or plastic bags, and our use of plastic – we do have control over that.”
He said each July ECCO kicked off their Plastic Free July campaign to encourage people to reduce their reliance on plastic – from onion bags to coffee cups.
Mr King said the group would also talk about how they can support cafes getting behind re-usable cups.
A full list of cafes offering discounts for customers providing their own cups can be found here.