Killarney used to accept it as a price of being a tourist town: ubiquitous disposable coffee cups spilling from bins, littering roads and blighting the area’s national park.
The County Kerry town went through about 23,000 cups a week – more than a million a year – adding up to 18.5 tonnes of waste.
Not any more. Three months ago, Killarney became the first town in Ireland to phase out single-use coffee cups. If you want a takeaway coffee from a cafe or hotel, you must bring your own cup or pay a €2 deposit for a reusable cup that is returned when the cup is given back.
Very good system. We all need to get into the habit of bringing our own bottles/cups and reusable bags when we’re out and about.
…as used to be common in the past.
Hindsight is 20/20
and now it is 20/23
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That honestly seems like a hassle. Long trips and stuff I understand, but if I’m just hanging with my friends with nothing on me I don’t want to carry a bag just to put a cup in it.
The deposit system they’re using in that town seems much better to me, as long as that’s an option I’m on board.
it’s a return to tradition. few hundred years ago you’d have your sword and your tankard on your belt as part of your daily carry
Tiny inconveniences in our lives are far less important than the billions of tons of pollution we create every year…
Sure, but the deposit system doesn’t create pollution either and is also a much smaller inconvenience.
Looks like a good idea
I live in Ireland and litter is a major issue. Bottles, cans, cups, discarded food, trash dumped in country lanes and worst of all fly tipping. I think a lot of these issues are easy to remedy and while reusable coffee cups are a positive there is a lot more that could be done.
As a former barista, getting rid of single use cups would easily cut a coffee shops waste in half, if not more.
Oh, and if your local coffee shop has a recycle bin/slot, chances are whatever goes into it goes into the regular trash. People are stupid and think everything they put in there is recyclable and workers don’t have the time to sort through it.
Is that where Pat’s Famous Chicken is from?
I personally did this like a year ago. Its extremely easy because almost every coffee machine out there will have a refillable pod that you load with your own grounds. So instead of putting in a pod you just load a scoop and put in your pod. Oh and it’s way cheaper and honestly tastier.
They are pretty convenient though. Are there any sustainable alternatives?
Like with straws, I know for fact that there are non-paper biodegradable ones.
Also, with discovery of plastic-eating bacteria, how is the definition of biodegradable shifting?
Edit: Obligatory mention of industry regulations being more effective in helping the environment
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
These are in order of priority. You want to recycle as a last resort, and reduce or reuse instead, if that works.
It will require rethinking business models. On-site consumption will have to be in ceramic mugs or other reusable dishware, and people looking for anything to-go will either have to bring their own portable coffee mugs and pay by volume or the business will have to sell their own reusable portable mugs and continue to charge fixed quantities.
I would be afraid of the company to sell their own reusable mugs because, if the problem boils down to mostly tourists, most of those would still end up in landfills.
