You might have heard a popular saying  “small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world”.

We all know that disposable coffee cups are bad, we see reference to it in the media regularly along with straws, plastic drink bottles and plastic bags.

It is estimated Australians use 1 billion disposable coffee cups each year. That’s approximately 2,700,000 coffee cups thrown out every day! Many disposable coffee cups contain thin layer of plastic. So, even though the paper may degrade and become inert, the plastic will stick around for a really long time. Richard Fine, who founded biodegradable coffee cup manufacturer Biopak a decade ago, estimated up to 90 per cent of all disposable cups ended up in landfill, equating to around 60,000 kilograms of plastic waste per annum (source ABC)

So, what is the solution?

Reduce, reuse, recycle and in addition to that, refuse, remember and respect.

• Reduce, don’t takeaway, drink your coffee from ceramic cups at the café
• Reuse, purchase a reusable cup or just take a mug from the office
• Recycle, ask your local coffee shop to consider switching to recyclable cups
• Refuse a disposable cup, bring your own reusable cup
• Refuse a lid, if you don’t need the lid don’t take one
• Remember to bring your cup or see if the place has a swap system in place
• Respecting the earth is making a choice to understand the gravity of our actions, and to think about the planet we stand on when we’re making them.

Finally, here is a list* of places in Darwin that offer a discount if you BYO cup. Save yourself some money and the planet at the same time.

Also:

• Alley Cats
• Brown Sugar Café
• Laneway
• Besser

Want to do more? Make a pledge today, your personal War on Waste.

*This list and the prices are referenced from: https://responsiblecafes.org/map. We take no responsibility for changes or differences in what is published here.