Sir, – While the renewable fibre packaging industry both practices and supports the principles of a circular economy, we fear the consequences of the recently enacted “latte levy” (Catherine Cleary, “The future of your morning coffee: Will the ‘latte levy’ make us kick the coffee cup habit?”, Magazine, August 13th).
There is nothing inherently wrong with disposable packaging; in fact, recyclable and compostable disposables are at the heart of a circular economy – just look at the paper straw, which was introduced to phase out harmful plastic straws. Paradoxically, the latte levy seeks to replace a recyclable paper-based product with a non-recyclable hard plastic cup that uses 3.4 times more fresh water on a use-for-use basis than disposables, in a time where water scarcity is an increasingly alarming concern. While we should be seeking to improve on our waste habits, the answer cannot be to inject more plastic into the economy.
The €1 plastic cups touted in the article as the way forward provide us with a mere glimpse of our future: this levy will cause the market to flood with cheap, flimsy plastic cups imported from China. Although the Government has promised to close any loopholes that will allow this to happen, the legislation remains opaque on the issue. The average lifetime of plastic reusable cups in a dine-in context across the EU is just 30 to 50 washes. These cups have 145 times more plastic than their single-use counterparts, and many cannot be recycled, won’t break down organically and ultimately end up in landfill.
The kind of recovered fibre that we use to supply coffee cups to cafes across the country is a valuable resource that can contribute to the circular economy but the legislation prevents this and instead encourages non-recyclable, non-renewable alternatives. Some of our European neighbours have introduced a pro-rata tax on single-use items, based on the level of plastic content within a given product. Such a measure would encourage Irish industry to embrace climate-friendly alternatives, deliver better environmental outcomes and avoid levying consumers.
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Catherine Cleary claims that single-use cups represent a “make-use-toss” culture; we argue that the latte levy will incentivise a “take-make-waste” economy with reusables. The statistics in the article indicate that fewer than one in three owners of reusable cups actually use them. Catherine Cleary acknowledges that she has four different reusable cups gathering dust in her kitchen cupboard.
Perhaps this ill-judged levy should also be consigned to the shelf if Ireland is to make true progress towards a circular economy. – Yours, etc,
TERRY FOX,
General Manager,
Cup Print,
Ennis,
Co Clare.