Starbucks’ 5p levy on cups – ANOTHER Mail victory

STARBUCKS is to introduce a 5p charge on throwaway cups in all its UK coffee shops in a landmark move to encourage customers to bring in their own.

The decision to back a socalled ‘latte levy’ comes after a pilot scheme in 35 London outlets found the number of people who brought in their own cups rose by 126 per cent.

Customers who do so will not only avoid the charge, but also receive a 25p discount on the drinks they buy at all 950 shops.

The change follows pressure on chains to curb the pollution caused by the billions of throwaway coffee cups they give away in the UK each year. The Daily Mail’s Curb the Cups campaign has highlighted how just one in 400 of the estimated 2.5billion cups handed out every year is recycled because they have a plastic coating.

It is believed approximately 500,000 are littered every day and plastics often end in our oceans and poison the wildlife.

Earlier this year, Starbucks committed £7.55million to develop a fully recyclable and compostable hot cup. However, the best solution would be to avoid the need for them at all by encouraging a shift to reusable cups.

During the 5p charge trial in London, the number of customers bringing in their own cups rose from 2.2 to 5.9 per cent. In the mornings, the proportion soared to 8.4 per cent.

Were the policy adopted across all coffee shops, even at these relatively small levels the number of cups handed out could be cut by around 150million a year. This could potentially reach more than a billion with a heftier charge.

MPs on the all-party Environmental Audit Committee have called for a 25p levy to be introduced by 2023. Greenpeace oceans campaigner Louise Edge wel- comed the move by Starbucks but suggested a higher charge was needed. The proceeds from the 5p cups will go to environmental charity Hubbub, which supports projects to reduce plastic pollution across the UK.

Starbucks said it hoped the move would have a similar effect to the 5p charge for plastic bags – introduced after another Mail campaign.

Other chains will be under pressure to introduce a ‘latte levy – however the biggest, such as Costa and McDonald’s, say they have ‘no plans’ to do so yet.

Costa and Pret a Manger have offered discounts of 25p and 50p respectively to customers who bring their own cups. But research by Cardiff University suggests a charge is more effective than cash incentives at reducing cup use.