‘Latte levy’ on coffee cups to be introduced

The Environmental Audit Committee has called on the government to introduce a 25p latte levy on disposable coffee cups.

It has also set a target to recycle all cups by 2023.

The Environmental Audit Committee said the money raised through the levy could improve the UK’s recycling facilities.

It also wants the government to ban disposable coffee cups unless they are all recycled by 2023.

The committee has also called on the government to make producers pay more for packaging which is difficult to recycle, and improve labelling to educate consumers about how best to dispose of their cup.

Mary Creagh, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said: “The UK throws away 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every year; enough to circle the planet five and a half times. Almost none are recycled and half a million a day are littered. Coffee cup producers and distributors have not taken action to rectify this and government has sat on its hands.

"The UK’s coffee shop market is expanding rapidly, so we need to kick start a revolution in recycling. We’re calling for action to reduce the number of single use cups, promote reusable cups over disposable cups and to recycle all coffee cups by 2023.”