THE Liberal Democrats want to see a 5p charge on disposable coffee cups to reduce usage.
The political party said the policy builds on the success of the 5p plastic bag levy, which has seen a dramatic reduction in bags used.
The Lib Dems said that If a charge on cups had the same impact, over 2 billion fewer of them would be used every year.
The party is implementing a 5p charge on disposable cups for hot drinks bought at their own party conference this month.
Liberal Democrat Leader, Tim Farron MP said, “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.”
Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, Kate Parminter added, “We’ve seen how dramatically a small charge has affected public behaviour when it comes to the plastic bags and its 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.
“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.”
