A Liberal Democrat proposal to put a 5p charge in singe use disposable coffee cups has been rejected by Defra minister and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Life Opportunities, the aptly named Thérèse Coffey.
Some 2.5 billion paper cups are disposed of each year in the UK. To tackle the problem the Liberal Democrats have called for the introduction of a 5p charge on disposable coffee cups to cut usage across the UK.
However, according to a report by the Guardian, Coffey has now replied to the proposal in a letter in which the idea is discounted.
“Many major chains are taking their own action to incentivise environmentally friendly behaviour, for example, offering a discount on drinks if customers bring their own cup,” the environment minister was reported to have written in a letter to Lib Dem MEP Catherine Bearder.
Riled by the letter from the minister Bearder responded: “This letter shows the Conservative government is in complete denial about the scandalous waste caused by throwaway coffee cups. Not only is the minister refusing to act, she is refusing to even acknowledge this as an issue.”
According to the Guardian the MEP continued: “We saw with the 5p plastic bag charge how a small intervention can make a huge difference in cutting unnecessary waste and protecting the environment. The Conservatives should build on this success, not leave it up to the private sector alone when that approach has so clearly failed in the past.”
However, speaking on a Radio 4 programme on the proposal last month, Food Packaging Association (FPA) executive director, Martin Kersh, expressed doubts about its likely effectiveness.
“A 5p charge is not going to achieve anything,” he said, adding that a key error in the proposal was to compare paper cups to carrier bags.
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