Cut the Cup

Dear Editor

Around five billion single-use coffee cups are used each year in the UK alone. Only a tiny percent are recycled, leaving the rest to pollute our beaches and rivers – where they can be deadly to sea life – or are dumped in landfill or burned.

We’re in a plastic crisis. Tell the government to cut plastic pollution with a cup charge 

As most of these so-called ‘paper’ cups contain a plastic lining, they contribute to the millions of pieces of plastic pollution finding their way into our precious oceans every day. Plus billions more single-use cups – made entirely of plastic – are used each year to hold smoothies and milkshakes.
These cups hang around in our oceans and rivers for decades, where they can choke, strangle or trap sea creatures. Plastic from chucked away drinks cups and lids are an all too common find on our beach cleans, but our volunteers can’t collect them all.

We need the Government to introduce a charge to persuade consumers to cut the throwaway cup from their morning coffee and carry a reusable cup instead, not back down to pressure from coffee giants like Costa.

Sign the petition: stop disposable cups polluting oceans and harming sea life.

Nothing we use for a few minutes should pollute our oceans for decades, and sea creatures shouldn’t have to learn to live with our plastic pollution. That’s why Surfers Against Sewage is part of a team of top environmental organisations, including Greenpeace, Keep Britain Tidy and the Marine Conservation Society backing adding a 25p charge to single-use cups to encourage consumers to switch to reusable alternatives.

If enough of us sign the petition, we can show the Government there’s huge public demand for the charge and that thousands of us are already cutting single-use cups from our daily lives. We’re up against heavy lobbying from huge companies like Costa to block a charge and protect their profits, as a Greenpeace investigation revealed today. But together we’re more powerful than corporate influence.

Tell the government not to back down to corporate pressure and introduce a cup charge. 

We know a cup charge will work, and the government does too. Last year the Houses of Parliament introduced a 25p charge on single-use paper cups for hot drinks sold there. This resulted in a massive 74% drop in the use of paper cups, with no negative impact on overall sales.

Despite this compelling evidence, the then-Chancellor Philip Hammond refused to back calls from the government’s own Environmental Audit Committee to introduce a 25p fee on all single-use coffee cups last Autumn. The reason? It would not lead to a widespread shift to reusables among the public.

But we know a small change can lead to big changes in behaviour. Just look at the impact of the 5p charge on single-use plastic bags. It’s resulted in an 80% reduction in their use. That’s millions fewer bags polluting our oceans and waterways each year. Even when plastic bags are used, the charge is used to support charity projects – like Tesco’s Bags of Help project funding beach clean boxes for our Plastic Free Schools.

Cut the cup: sign the petition for a cup charge

The UK needs to follow Scotland’s lead, where the Government last year committed to introducing a charge on single-use cups. We urge the UK Chancellor Sajid Javid to introduce a charge of at least 25p, with the proceeds used to support projects helping tackle plastic pollution and the climate emergency.

We’ve shown time and time again that when we unite as #GenerationSea we can persuade governments and industry to cut plastic pollution. Add your voice to the thousands who have already signed now 

Thanks for all you do for oceans,

Hugo.