Single Use Coffee Cups
IS YOUR SINGLE USE COFFEE CUP REALLY WORTH IT?
- GBSAN column from Stanthorpe Today, published 4 September 2025
1.6 billion – that’s the number of single-use coffee cups we throw away every year in Australia. Most are used for just ten minutes but they last a lifetime in landfill, or worse, end up polluting our oceans, waterways, wildlife or even our body. When we throw a cup in the bin do we give a thought to the thirty years it will take to break into harmful microplastics that contaminate every part of the food chain?
You may think your take-away coffee cup is recyclable or compostable, however, the situation is more complex. Most cups are lined with low density polyethylene plastic or bioplastic linings. It’s difficult to separate that plastic out and compostable cups require commercial composting facilities (ie can’t be composted in your backyard). All cups are difficult to recover and the majority are sent to landfill. Lids are usually plastic and end up in landfill or as litter.
Single-use plastic isn’t just a waste problem – it’s a climate problem too. From oil extraction to production and disposal, plastics drive carbon emissions at every stage. Beyond their environmental impact, single-use plastic contributes to cost of living. We pay for disposable packaging again and again – through grocery bills, waste collection fees and costs passed on by businesses for packaging expenses. Ratepayers foot the bill as councils struggle to manage the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfill.
There is a better way – reuse and refill. We can all advocate for better systems, support reuse friendly businesses and make small shifts in our own habits. Carry your own reusable keep cup with you in the car/in your bag. Take your own bags to the supermarket, choose food that isn’t wrapped in plastic and talk to your local café and supermarket to support change. Encourage your coffee shop to give a discount for bringing your own cup – some are already doing this – or start a mug library.
Lobby local, state and federal government to ban single-use cups. In South Australia and Western Australia they are already banned and only fully compostable cups can be used.
A small effort by each person, collectively can have a big impact. For further information on the subject check www.gbsan.org.au/resource-recovery.