Comments on: How taxpayers are subsidising coffee chains’ green spin https://leftfootforward.org/2018/01/how-taxpayers-are-subsidising-coffee-chains-green-spin-latte-levy-cups/ Left Foot Forward is the home for UK progressives. We provide evidence-based analysis on British politics, news and policy. Fri, 05 Jan 2018 17:34:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.5 By: Alasdair Macdonald https://leftfootforward.org/2018/01/how-taxpayers-are-subsidising-coffee-chains-green-spin-latte-levy-cups/#comment-950730 Fri, 05 Jan 2018 17:34:00 +0000 https://leftfootforward.org/?p=125724#comment-950730 While I agree that the specific proposal Craig Mackay puts forward is a good one, it will not solve the problem. I agree with the article that we need to put the onus on to the businesses which produce the cups and packaging (because it is almost all fast food and drink containers) and, if that includes fining and taxing then so be it. The industry and the retail side are definitely trying to put responsibility on to taxpayers. It is resisting deposit schemes mendaciously branding them as ‘unworkable’, despite them working well across the world and they worked well when I was a boy, as I earned pocket money by returning bottles. The industry also managed a propaganda coup in that it had the BBC and others labelling the ‘latte levy’ as a consumers’ problem. On phone-ins we were told ‘how disgusting it was to have to put coffee into reusable containers which the owners (sic) never cleaned.’

Since I retired I have done voluntary work which includes clearing litter from footways and green spaces. Almost all the litter is containers, cutlery and wrappings from fast foods and drink and cigarette ends. The main culprits are football crowds and secondary school and college students.

It is a wider issue than just coffee cups, but I am happy to make a start with them. (PS – I have a reusable coffee cup.)

]]> By: Craig Mackay https://leftfootforward.org/2018/01/how-taxpayers-are-subsidising-coffee-chains-green-spin-latte-levy-cups/#comment-950714 Fri, 05 Jan 2018 13:39:56 +0000 https://leftfootforward.org/?p=125724#comment-950714 This is a wonderful example of how politicians deal with challenging matters. All they can think of is taxes/surcharge/money penalties. There is another approach which had there been any scientists on the panel would have helped them sort out the problem immediately. The problem with these disposable coffee cups is that the plastic inner, necessary to make it waterproof, is bonded to the cardboard outer, necessary to allow it to be lifted and provide insulation.

All you have to do is require the coffee companies to use recyclable cups which can be done most easily as follows. The plastic inner sleeve to be placed inside a cardboard outer sleeve immediately before serving. The inner and outer are easily separated later and each can be recycled independently.

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