Latte Levy: coffee shop operators react

Gabriel Shohet, director of Black Sheep Coffee, welcomed the proposal for raising awareness, but said big-name coffee shop operators needed to take the lead and switch to biodegradable cups.

He said: “In my view the 25p latte levy is a good way to start the debate and raise awareness but it does nothing for the environment. Everyone knows that only a tiny proportion of takeaway cups end up being recycled. Unfortunately the vast majority end up in general waste bins and have a disastrous impact on our environment. If we all know takeaway cups don’t get recycled, then coffee operators should address the issue head-on and switch to 100% biodegradable and compostable cups. That’s what we do at Black Sheep and it’s consternating to see that the big chains are not taking the lead here. There wouldn’t be a need to charge extra or to incentivise people not to use takeaway cups if takeaway cups were biodegradable in the first place.”

Penny Manuel, managing director of Soho Coffee Co, described the report as “sensationalist” and a burden on under-pressure operators, and called for wider efforts to facilitate consumers to recycle.

She said: “It can only be right to take action to reduce the consumption of single-use packaging across all formats – whether coffee cups constitute more of an issue than burger boxes, coke cans or water bottles, is questionable.

“The issue is multi-faceted – the recyclability of the cup material, including the lid v the ability to influence consumer behaviour once they have left your premises v the availability of recycling bins on the streets and stations. You take a commuter rushing home, who picks up a coffee or indeed a can of beer before they get on the train – they drink it, but there is no way of recycling it. Intrinsically we, as a country, do not encourage responsible consumer behaviour towards recycling, outside of the home.

“The way forward has to be consultative and involve the relevant interested parties. Today’s article is sensationalist and not especially helpful – customers will expect businesses to absorb costs; anyone running a retail food business will tell you that the pressure on margins is hitting on many levels – raw materials, fuel, rent and rates, living wage, utilities and so forth. It is a complex issue which has to be tackled, but demands a consultative and pro-active approach.

Costa Coffee said it already offered customers a 25p discount to use reusable cups, but said better recycling options were needed outside its stores and across the country.

A spokesperson, said: “We were pleased to take part in the EAC inquiry and have the opportunity to express our views on this important issue. The report recognises the work Costa has already done in order to increase reuse and recycling rates. Through our nationwide in-store recycling scheme we have recovered over 12 million cups for recycling since February 2017 but understand the serious need to ensure better infrastructure is available outside of our stores. To encourage our customers to use reusable cups we already offer a 25p discount, which we will be further promoting this year.

“We believe the Government must consider a mix of measures to address this issue with a focus on improving the UK’s waste and recycling infrastructure. We look forward to continuing our ongoing work with the Government, as part of their wider review into single use plastics and recycling.”

Nathan Lowry, chief executive of easyCoffee, said the tax would hit one of life’s daily pleasures for consumers, and cause added paperwork for independents.

He said: “A 25 p levy is not the answer. It’s easy for politicians to throw around another tax for UK customers, who only want to enjoy a great cup of coffee as part of their daily routine at our shops. Our daily coffee is one of life’s pleasures, not some politicians easy tax policy. Coffee cups account for less than one percent of UK waste. If it was simple it would have been already implemented, we at easyCoffee continue to work hard with our cup suppliers to find a decent recyclable cup.

“The paperwork for independents is also going to be another burden.”

Chris Stemman, executive director of the British Coffee Association, welcomed the sentiments, but doubted the levy would fix the issue, and said any revenue would need to be invested in recycling infrastructure.

He said: “Long term sustainability and driving a circular economy are of paramount importance to the UK coffee industry and we welcome the EAC report in its reduce, reuse and recycle initiatives, particularly those that drive innovation of using only recyclable materials, and in working towards a goal of recycling all paper cups. However, we don’t think that a proposed 25p tax on non-reusable cups would fix this issue, instead it places an unfair and additional cost on coffee drinking consumers only – despite paper cups only contributing 0.7% of total paper packaging waste. We urge the UK Government to ensure that if any potential tax is considered, that it is ring-fenced and used specifically to invest in new ‘binfrastructure’ and to improve recycling processes with local authorities that make it easier to separate and stream paper cups and other waste products. There has already been significant progress made by individual coffee chains and retailers in capturing and recycling paper cups as well as offering incentives to use reusable cups. We hope to see continued and measured impact with consumers using reusable cups more often and with retailers being able to recycle more and more cups.”

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the ALMR, raised concerns the latte levy would increase costs without tackling the problem.

“Small and medium-sized businesses will be particularly vulnerable to cost increases and many of them will find it difficult to absorb this cost or even pass it onto customers as the cost of the cup is already factored into the price.

“Efforts by businesses to tackle the issue are recognised in the report and some of the ALMR’s members have begun loyalty schemes or provided discounts for customers using their own reusable cups. Steps such as these help address waste without increasing costs for businesses and actually save customers money. The sector is taking the issue seriously and the Paper Cup Recovery & Recycling Group’s annual report states that we now have over 4,000 recycling points from a standing start.

“This is not necessarily the same as the charge on plastic bags because, unlike a trip to the supermarket, buying a coffee is usually an impulse purchase; and waste generated by paper cups amounts to just 0.7% of the UK’s total packaging waste. Action taken at the other end of the chain, to improve recycling facilities, rather than deter purchases, might be a more effective option.

“Schemes to tackle waste are welcome, and businesses are ready to play their part, but an additional tax on businesses, one which will increase costs and potentially threaten jobs, is not the answer.”