Hey, Big Coffee Chain
Single-use cups – they’re Pret-y silly, right?
We banned cups in 2018. It’s time for the big guys to do the same.
Join us in calling on Big Coffee Chains to choose to reuse and ban single-use coffee cups.
Taking a stand
For too long, making the right choice has been up to you, our Everyday Heroes, remembering your reusable coffee cup and choosing to reuse. But it will take national level to turn the tide. We need the Big Coffee Chains and the government to act.
Here's the problem
Every year, the UK gets through an estimated 2.5 billion ‘disposable’ coffee cups, but less than 1% are recycled.
96% of single-use coffee cups end up in landfill. Many people believe that single-use coffee cups can be widely recycled, and dispose of them in on-street recycling bins. However all single-use coffee cups have a lining, which cannot be removed by most recycling facilities. This creates a problem for local authorities – and taxpayers are covering 90% of the cost of collecting, sorting, and disposing of waste coffee cups.
Plastic is affecting our health, too. In 2018, a study by the University of Exeter found that 86 per cent of teenagers have traces of Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical compound used to make plastics and found in single-use coffee cups, in their body. On top of this, every year, 2 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean, washed down from rivers.
How you can help
Join the movement
Small changes have a big impact. However you lend a hand, cheers for being an Everyday Hero.
1. Choose To Reuse by bringing, buying, or borrowing a cup next time you have a coffee. Small change, big impact.
2. Sign our petition asking Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, to call for a nationwide ban on single-use cups. Feeling extra generous? Share the petition to help spread the word
3. Challenge Big Coffee by sharing our campaign wherever you see it - in our cafes, on our socials or right here.
Choosing to Reuse at BTP
Bring any reusable cup, and we’ll fill it with coffee. Simple.
Borrow a loan cup from us for just £2 (which is fully refundable when you return your cup to any BTP café)
Buy one of our reusable cups from the lovely folks at Ecoffee Cup. Available in small, medium, and large, from £4.25.