2. Coffee Cups & Lids
Single-use takeaway coffee cups and lids are one of the greatest pollutants in our community today. In fact, Australians consume over 2.7 million takeaway coffee cups each day, that's close to a billion every year - what's worse, this statistic is rapidly climbing!
The plastic lining in the cup means the majority of cups are not recyclable, and instead end up in landfill. If mismanaged they have the potential to end up in our oceans. Coffee cup lids are usually made of polystyrene (Plastic Code 6 PS), a particularly toxic and problematic source of marine plastic pollution. Lids often escape bins and landfill, ending up in the ocean.
Criteria Goals
Members are required to accept reusable coffee cups in an effort to reduce the consumption of single-use takeaway cups and lids. To encourage customers to ditch single-use takeaway coffee cups and lids, members should look to sell reusables and even provide a loan cup from a mug library as an alternative solution.
When purchasing single-use takeaway coffee cups and lids, members are strongly encouraged to choose from the two options below.
Certified Home or Commercial Compostable: single-use coffee cups and lids to be Home Compostable AS 5810 - 2010 or Commercially Compostable AS 4736 - 2010. Although the current waste infrastructure in Noosa does not accommodate compostables as a waste stream, compostable alternatives are still recommended alternative solutions. Compostable single-use cups and lids are not recyclable and must go into the general waste bin currently in Noosa.
Recyclable Cups and Lids: instead of sending compostable takeaway coffee cups and lids to landfill, members can become a Simply Cups Cup Collector. With custom branding available, Simply Cups provide cups and lids, a Cup Collector and depending on the business needs periodic collection on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis can be organised - collected used cups and lids are then upcycled! Plastic Free Noosa Champions Entity Coffee in Sunshine Beach is a great example of a successful Simply Cups Cup Collector.
The use of single-use takeaway coffee cups and lids in a dine-in setting is strongly discouraged.