Cafes ditch single-use cups for July

CAFES across Mullumbimby have stopped offering single-use coffee cups for July as part of a new waste reduction initiative led by Byron Shire Council and local business Good Reusables.

Customers who forget their reusable cup can borrow one by paying a small deposit, refunded when the cup is returned.

The Reuse July campaign responds to figures from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water showing Australians use 1.8 billion single-use hot beverage cups each year.

About 500,000 of those end up in landfill every day. Planet Ark estimates 90 per cent of takeaway coffee cups cannot be recycled through standard kerbside bins.

Participating cafes include The Other Joint, Bimbi, Ya’man, Santos Organics, The Paddock, Heaps Good and Lulus.

Byron Shire Council resource recovery strategy and engagement officer Sarah Child said momentum around reuse was growing locally.

“We have been working really hard with event organisers and the markets in the Shire to stop single-use packaging and each week they are currently removing an average of 6000 items a week from going to landfill,” Child said.

“People think that takeaway coffee cups are recyclable or compostable and therefore there’s no harm in using them.

“But the reality is they are not able to be recycled in any way and they go straight into landfill.

“It’s much easier for people to take their own cup or borrow.”

Child said she hoped residents would support participating businesses and help reduce waste.

“I would love to see the number of takeaway coffee cups used in Mullum plummet in July, so I am inviting everyone to join the challenge,” she said.