SMELL THE COFFEE

Wallet, phone, keys, shopping bag. That’s the mental list when anyone is going to shop in Ireland. Even on holidays, we are now conditioned to bring a canvas bag with us to Le Supermarché. The same with smoking; numerous smokers admit to standing outside the door no matter what country they are in, as a result of years of conditioning.

Now, it’s with disposable coffee cups. With half a million every day making their way to landfills and incinerators in Ireland, the proposed 20c levy can’t come too soon.

One of the positive things about the Hibernian culture is the Irish willingness to jump on any bandwagon. Wine, artisan coffee, fake tan, conservatories; time and again through history we show ourselves only too willing to embrace a fad with open arms and eager smiles. No doubt the reusable coffee cup will be the newest status symbol. Will it be Penneys’ or BTs? ‘Black Lives Matter’ or ‘Save the Trees’?

Jesting aside, the age of single-use products is going and gone. Now let’s wait for the levy on cheap summer clothes, another scourge of single-use disposability.