Election 2017: Liberal Democrats pledge 5p levy on disposable coffee cups in bid to cut down waste

The Liberal Democrats would introduce a 5p charge on disposable coffee cups in an attempt to cut the amount of cardboard that is binned each year, the party has announced.

Around 2.5 billion cups are thrown away in the UK every year – the equivalent of 5,000 each minute. Only around one in 400 are currently recycled.

The Liberal Democrat plan follows the introduction of a similar 5p levy on plastic bags – a move that has resulted in an 85 per cent reduction in bag use since the charge was introduced in 2015.

The party said the revenue from the coffee cup levy would go to charity, with local people choosing which causes to support. People would be “encouraged” to choose environmental charities, it said.

The Lib Dems have also pledged to introduce a legal recycling target of 70 per cent.

The party’s shadow environment secretary, Kate Parminter, said: "Liberal Democrats brought in the plastic bag charge and it’s proved highly successful – coffee cups are the next logical step.

“For the Liberal Democrats protecting our environment and tackling climate change is a priority. We can and must act.”

Wera Hobhouse, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Bath, added: "This small change will make a huge difference to our environment.

"Most people purchase their morning coffee and throw away the cup without even thinking about it. Our 5p charge would increase awareness of the environmental impact and change consumer behaviour towards using re-usable cups and mugs.”

Coffee shop chains have been criticised for not doing enough to stop waste.

Last year, Starbucks scrapped a 50p discount for customers who brought their own cup, just three months after introducing it. The firm later said it would be introducing special bins to allow cups to be more easily recycled. It also gives a 25p discount to customers providing their own cup.

Costa also offers a 25p discount and claims more than 2,000 of its stores recycle all paper takeaway cups, while Nero offers a double reward card stamp for customers bringing their own cup.

Part of the difficulty in recycling coffee cups is that they are made from a mixture of paper and plastic that is hard to break down.

The Government has previously ruled out introducing a levy on coffee cups, saying stores are already doing enough to cut down waste.

“Many major chains are taking their own action to incentivise environmentally friendly behaviour, for example, offering a discount on drinks if customers bring their own cup”, Therese Coffee, the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, said last year.