This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Around 2.5 billion single-use cups are used in the U.K. every year, yet fewer than 1% are recycled. They contribute to litter, contaminate recycling streams and increase waste management and street cleaning costs for local authorities and taxpayers.
Research by the Revolution Plastics Institute team, University of Bath, Oxford Brookes University and University of Sheffield found that 92% of customers are unsure whether they are being charged for a disposable cup when they buy a drink. This lack of transparency means people may not realize they are paying for disposable packaging or understand that they could avoid the cost by bringing a reusable cup. Existing charges vary among cafes and retailers and are often not clearly communicated at the point of purchase.
Kate Whitman of the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth said, "We use millions of disposable cups every year. Customers tend to believe they are recyclable, but the truth is that they very rarely are. While many cafes offer discounts for using reusable cups, these vary between retailers and are often not visible at the point of purchase.
The default choice is often a disposable cup, and a clear, memorable charge will help to change that. By giving customers the information they need to save money by using reusable alternatives, we can also reduce harmful waste." The policy brief recommends that the charge be clearly displayed when customers buy a drink and separately itemized on receipts and digital orders. Consumers should be able to avoid the charge entirely by using dishes or a reusable cup.
The recommendation is based on research conducted for the policy brief, which examined how people respond to disposable cup charges and what prevents them from adopting reusable alternatives. This included a field experiment across three university cafes, surveys of cafe customers, interviews with consumers and discussions with policy, retail and behavioral science experts. The researchers found that making the cost of a single-use cup explicit can influence greener purchasing decisions, strengthening the case for a charge that is visible and consistent rather than voluntary and variable.
They say a clear national cup-charging framework could help create the conditions for reuse systems to expand. These include customers bringing their own cups, cafes operating returnable cup schemes and shared collection and washing systems operating across multiple retailers. Disposable cups also place a burden on public services.
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