Coffee shop vow as move costs sales

A coffee shop chain has saved 17,500 disposable coffee cups from landfill just a month after introducing a ban on them. Boston Tea Party has taken a hit on sales since removing single use cups from its 22 stores, of which two are in Bath, but says it was the “right thing to do”. The company said: “We joined the global war on plastic some time ago. We stopped using plastic straws and plastic bottles, and have always done what we can to reduce, reuse and recycle. “However, the elephant in the room was still the vast amount of single-use coffee cups which left our cafes, only to be tossed into a bin, or worse, on the ground.” It won praise for the environmentally-friendly move from customers with Jo Dolby saying: “You guys are actual heroes for leading the way in this. Hope it doubles your profits and challenges others to follow in your footsteps.” Customers are now asked to bring their own reusable cups for a takeaway coffee or buy a reusable cup, priced from £4.25 to £4.75. Meanwhile, takeaway hot drink sales have fallen 24 per cent. The chain, owned by Sam Roberts whose mother lives in Bath, has since opened a new cafe in Chichester - the first to open without single use cups. Mr Roberts said: “We always knew we would see a drop in takeaway coffee sales with the ban, being the first to make the move means if customers choose not to get behind it there are still plenty of competitors using disposable cups. “We did this because it’s the right thing to do, not the easy option. It’s the start of a journey for us.” He added: “We can’t solve this problem on our own, we’re on the hunt for organisations, however big or small, to help this campaign to gather momentum.”