Would you eat your coffee cup to help reduce plastic waste?

Original publication by Iskhandar Razak for abc.net.au on 28 January 2023

Edible takeaway cups and library-style mug-borrowing schemes are on the menu at a growing number of cafes as possible solutions to Australia’s addiction to plastic convenience. 

But most kinds of takeaway cups aren’t included.

The National Retail Association (NRA) says the change brings Victoria in line with most of the nation, but takeaway drinks are difficult.

“Coffee cups, however, are a really complex thing,” NRA policy manager Ebony Johnson said.

“Anything that needs to hold water, needs to protect people from burns. And food safety must come first.”

Victoria’s Environment Minister Ingrid Stitt said the incoming ban would have a big impact, but the state and the nation were not quite ready to go further.

“We’ve got more work to do before we introduce a ban on something like coffee cups,” she said.

“We don’t want to have a situation where we create unintended consequences, by bringing in bans quicker than we have been able to develop solutions.”

Shared mugs and edible cups join the ‘solution’

Western Australia is considering phasing in changes to takeaway cups this year, and a growing number of Victorian eateries are taking the plunge without a government push.

At the University of Melbourne, 15 eateries have signed up to a shared mug scheme.

“It feels good to be part of the solution,” said Peter Zhang, owner and operator at Carte Crepes.

Under the scheme, with a company called Green Caffeen, people can take a mug for their drinks and return them at any participating eatery.

Like the library, it is free unless it doesn’t get returned on time.

Mr Zhang said few customers took part early on, but slowly word had grown.

About 20 customers a day were now participating, he said, meaning thousands of cups a year were being saved.

“Even one cup is important,” he said.

At the Into Coffee cafe in nearby Collingwood, there is an even stricter no-plastic policy.

Customers either bring their own re-usable vessel, borrow one with a deposit, or, for an extra fee buy an edible cup made of oats and grains.

“It is actually, quite a challenge. We turn away quite a few customers,” the cafe’s Luke Phillips said.

The cafe sells the edible cups at cost, to encourage change towards a zero-plastic future.

“We’re trying to be a stepping stone from where the community and Melbourne is right now, and where we are trying to get to,” he said.

“Some people do get them every day. So that’s some validation there.”

Customers at Into Coffee who tried the edible cups and spoke to the ABC were surprised and enthusiastic, saying they tasted a little bit like Weet-Bix.

Into Coffee concedes many people will not eat a cup every day. Also, the cups are not gluten free so may not suit all dietary needs.

But the cups are biodegradable and can be composted. 

“The real solution is people thinking about what they do. Paying attention to their habits,” Mr Phillips said.

“You don’t have to stop using single-use cups straight away, but make little changes and we’ll get there.”

Collingwood resident Tracy Cho said the plastic-free alternative was “like a waffle cup”.

“It doesn’t soak. It holds the drink,” she said.

Donna Stevens had a cold iced coffee in an edible cup and said the experience was “fantastic”.

“It came with a big solid ice block and it hasn’t softened,” she said.

“Still crunchy. Not sweet, mustn’t have sugar. Great idea.”

Environment Minister Ingrid Stitt said banning disposable cups was on the government’s “radar”, but refused to set a date for when all forms of single-use cups could not be sold.

“We are committed to reducing what goes to landfill by 80 per cent by 2030,” she said.

“Our bans go further than some states and territories.

“And we are looking at what we can do with other states and territories in the future.”

Environment Protection Authority Victoria will police the ban on single-use plastics when it begins on February 1.