The use of disposable coffee cups could be reduced by up to 300 million annually, according to research announced today by Cardiff University for leading coffee roaster, Bewley’s.

An estimated 2.5bn disposable coffee cups are used in the UK each year, creating approximately 25,000 tonnes of waste.

The research, conducted from September to December 2016, tested a range of measures that could encourage the use of re-usable coffee cups. It found that financial incentives, re-usable alternatives, and clear messaging reminding customers of the environmental impact of single use coffee cups all had a direct impact on consumer behaviour.

The study found that a charge on disposable cups increased the use of re-usable coffee cups by 3.4%, environmental messaging in cafes increased the use of re-usable coffee cups by 2.3%, the availability of re-usable cups led to an increase of 2.5%, and the distribution of free re-usable cups led to a further increase of 4.3 %.

Author of the report, Professor Wouter Poortinga, from the Welsh School of Architecture, said, “While the increases for individual measures were modest, the greatest behavioural change was when the measures were combined.'

The study found that the provision of free re-usable alternatives combined with clear environmental messaging and a charge on disposable cups increased the use of reusable cups from 5.1% to 17.4%.

Poortinga continued, “Our results show that, on average, the use of reusable coffee cups could be increased by up to 12.5% with a combination of measures. With this in mind, the UK’s usage of an estimated 2.5bn disposable coffee cups each year could be cut by up to 300 million coffee cups.'

The most notable finding was that, while a charge on disposable cups increased the use of re-usable coffee cups, a discount on re-usable coffee cups had no impact on their usage.

Poortinga added, “There is an important nuance when it comes to financial incentives. People are far more sensitive to losses than to gains when making decisions – so if we really want to change a customer’s behaviour then a charge on a disposable cup is more likely to be effective”.

As one of the largest foodservice coffee business in the UK & Ireland, Bewley’s has been working with industry partners on the sustainability of coffee cups for some time. Louise Whitaker, Head of Marketing at Bewley’s UK, said: “There is a huge amount of waste being sent to landfill each year and promoting reusable cups is part of the solution”.

While it may be difficult to persuade customers to change the way they drink their daily cup of coffee or tea, companies have a responsibility to play their part in solving the coffee cup waste problem.

Louise Whitaker of Bewley’s said, “As a company we are committed to working with our cup providers and customers to provide a solution to the problem.”

Earlier this year, Starbucks Coffee announced it was trialling a paper cup recycling point in some of its stores. The brand’s ‘hidden’ discount for re-using cups was drastically increased last year.

Also, the UK’s biggest coffee chain, Costa has launched a scheme to take back cups from both its customers and even those of its competitors.

(source: www.cardiff.ac.uk/)