Council pushes to eliminate disposable coffee cups for Plastic Free July
Bega Valley Shire Council has partnered with Plastic Free July to eliminate use of disposable coffee cups in their organisation.
Mug libraries are a simple yet effective solution to reducing the use of disposable coffee cups.
3 July 2024
Bega Valley Shire Council has partnered with Plastic Free July to eliminate use of disposable coffee cups in their organisation.
The initiative brings a reusable coffee cup mug library to Council’s Bega office and waste education materials for depots in Merimbula, Eden and Bermagui.
Council’s Waste Education Officer, Ms Kruse said the internal campaign will hopefully inspire broad and long-term behaviour change within the community.
“This is us walking the talk. We have long been advocates for replacing disposable packaging and cups with reusable options and now we are turning that attention on ourselves,” Ms Kruse said.
“We are an organisation of more than 400 employees spread across numerous sites in the shire, so the capacity is certainly there to make a significant change.”
Ms Kruse said the initiative encourages employees to borrow, clean and return ceramic mugs when heading out for their lunchtime coffee.
“Despite their appearance or branding, single use coffee cups are not recyclable or compostable,” Ms Kruse said.
“In Australia alone, more than 1 billion coffee cups find their way to landfill each year, contributing an estimated 60,000 kg of plastic waste annually.
“By opting for a reusable cup—whether it’s a personal Keep Cup or a mug from our library—staff can significantly reduce their environmental footprint.
“There are some really good reasons to take part: it’s a huge win for the environment, your daily cuppa tastes better from a ceramic mug and many local cafes offer a discount for customers who bring their own cup.
“We’ve been talking with local café owners and they fully support not only a plastic free month, but ongoing efforts to reduce the amount of plastic waste heading to landfill.
“Many have initiatives of their own such as only stocking juices, water and soft drinks that are packaged in glass.
“We’re determined for our staff to make a positive impact on reducing plastic in landfill and we encourage anyone interested to take part and to watch an interactive story called The Cuppa.
“The story charts the epic 500-year tale of an everyday disposable coffee cup in our landfill site and is a sobering reminder that plastic waste never really goes away.”
For more information and to watch The Cuppa, visit Council’s website.
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Zingel Place
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Bega NSW 2550 -
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