Push for warning labels on coffee cups gathers steam

THE Federal Government is facing calls to slap cigarettestyle warnings on takeaway coffee cups as part of a campaign to stop so many ending up in landfill.

Environmental campaigner Anna Warren is leading the push, hoping to get 25,000 signatures to her online petition she can present to Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg.

Ms Warren says clear environmental warnings should be put on disposable coffee cups, most of which can’t be recycled because of a waterproof coating.

“Warnings on cigarette packaging have worked very well in reducing the rate of smoking, which is not considered cool any more,” she said in a post on change.org to drum up support for her action.

“We need the same for takeaway coffee cups.”

Ms Warren aims to have 25,000 people sign the petition and has so far attracted more than 23,600 signatures.

Every year, Australians use 2.6 billion disposable cups with most ending up in landfill.

Ms Warren said she hopes the government can introduce changes to tackle the issue, much in the same way some state governments and retailers have introduced bans on single-use plastic bags.

“If you think about all the people on the way to school or work, if they get a disposable coffee cup, if you just change that one habit every single morning, it would make a massive difference,” she said.