A CAMPAIGN to reduce single-use coffee cups on the Mornington Peninsula is gathering momentum, with some local cafes taking up the challenge and spreading the word.
A first for Victoria, the peninsula’s Plastic Free Places campaign is launching a reuse revolution at Commonfolk Coffee and HomeGround in Mornington, culminating in BYO Cup Day on 8 and 9 December.
The program is being paid for by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and delivered by the Boomerang Alliance, which represents 55 allies across Australia to tackle waste and litter.
Birte Moliere, the alliance’s Plastic Free Places facilitator, said the community was being invited to opt for reusables instead of disposable cups, with the goal of achieving 100 per cent coffee in reusables on the BYO cup days.
Moliere said the campaign show other businesses how to make the transition and how much it benefits the environment, a venue’s reputation and its bottom line.
Australians used 2.7 million single-use coffee cups a day — one billion a year. The equivalent of 16,000 single use cups were being sent to landfill or littered on the peninsula every day.
“By the time your single use cup has reached your hand, it has already left a big environmental footprint. Using up fossil fuel, paper and water resources, plus the carbon emissions resulting from its round-the-world production trip, the environmental price of a single-use cup is high”, Moliere said.
Sam Keck, co-founder of ethical coffee roaster and venues Commonfolk and social enterprise HomeGround, said small steps, like saying no to single use cups, could make a big difference.
Boomerang Alliance is calling on governments to set a 30 per cent national target for reusable packaging to be achieved by 2030, with all coffee shops selling disposable cups to also offer or sell reusable cups to their customers.
BYO cup days: Friday 8 December at Commonfolk Coffee, 16 Progress Street, Mornington and Saturday 9 December at HomeGround, 22 Robertson Drive, Mornington.
First published in the Mornington News – 5 December 2023
