MPs urge ministers to impose a 25p ‘latte levy’ on takeaway cups

MPs last night urged ministers to urgently impose a ‘latte levy’ of 25p on takeaway coffee cups.

The Commons environmental audit committee accused ministers of refusing to take ‘decisive action’ to tackle the billions of disposable cups that end up in landfill and pollute Britain’s beaches every year.

It follows the Daily Mail’s campaign to Turn The Tide On Plastic by cutting down on waste and increasing recycling.

While disposable coffee cups are made of paper, many are lined with plastic to prevent them disintegrating – something that makes them nearly impossible to recycle.

Of the 2.5billion disposable cups used a year, fewer than one in 400 are recycled, meaning most are sent to landfill.

Yesterday the committee chairman, Labour MP Mary Creagh, called for a coffee cup charge to echo the success of the 5p plastic bag charge, which was introduced after a Mail campaign.

‘Evidence to our inquiry demonstrated that charges work better than discounts for reducing the use of non-recyclable materials – as was the case with the plastic bag charge,’ she said. 

Of the 2.5billion disposable cups used a year, fewer than one in 400 are recycled, meaning most are sent to landfill

‘By choosing to favour voluntary discounts for reusable cups, the Government is ignoring the evidence about what works.’

The Government said it had not ruled out a latte levy but would consider the charge as part of a wider consultation on single-use plastic items.

However, MPs accused ministers of dragging their feet and called for urgent action, pointing out that there was no date set for the consultation’s publication.

The committee recommended a 25p levy on disposable coffee cups, which experts estimate could raise £438million to help fund plants capable of recycling the cups. 

The charge would also inspire more people to carry reusable coffee cups, they said.