Last week Waitrose announced its plan to get rid of all disposable coffee cups from its network of stores across the country. This latest plan is one in a series of measures being introduced by different coffee shops, all with the common aim of decreasing the amount of waste packaging that is being sent to landfill. Starbucks for example are trialling a 5p charge for takeaway cups in their outlets in a bid to reduce waste and at the start of the year Pret a Manger doubled the discount they give customers who use a reusable cup to 50p per hot drink.
The move means that customers who wish to claim a free tea or coffee as part of the myWaitrose loyalty scheme will need to use a refillable cup in order to take advantage of this members’ offer. As a result of the decision Waitrose have estimated that they will stop more than 52million disposable cups a year being used, which represents a significant amount of packaging being averted from landfill sites. The new system will be trialled in nine stores from the end of April, with it then being rolled out throughout the country.
Tor Harris, the head of Waitrose’s sustainability and responsible sourcing has spoken of the change being positive for the environment as well as showing how committed the company are to reducing waste. She said: “We realise this is a major change, but we believe removing all takeaway disposable cups is the right thing to do for our business. It underlines our commitment to plastic and packaging reduction, and our aim is to deliver this as quickly as possible.”
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