Government to introduce 20c levy on disposable cups

The process will begin with a ban on the use of disposable coffee cups for sit-in customers in cafes and restaurants.

People will be charged a 20c levy on disposable coffee cups under new Government measures aimed at reducing the 200m cups that are dumped each year.

The Circular Economy Bill will also pave the way for use of CCTV to detect and deter illegal dumping and littering.

The bill, which has been approved by Cabinet, aims to make Ireland the first country in the world to eliminate the use of disposable coffee cups, nearly half a million of which are currently sent to landfill or incineration every day.

Minister of State for the Circular Economy Ossian Smyth said: "This bill aims to stop the wasteful pattern of using valuable resources once and then just binning them.

"From discouraging the use of single-use items, to improving the process for allowing recycled materials onto the market, this legislation will support the development of sustainable products and business models across the economy."

He said he hoped the 20c levy would be introduced by the end of the year, but the Government will have to seek approval from the European Union, which will take about three months.

"Once we get a licence to go ahead and do this, I expect that will take towards the end of the year, so it will be towards the fourth quarter of the year before you see it happening. So there will be plenty of time over the summer to get used to using a keep cup," he said.

Mr Smyth added that Ireland had led the way 20 years ago with measures that dramatically curbed the use of plastic bags and the associated litter they caused.

200m cups are dumped each year.

This process will begin with a ban on the use of disposable coffee cups for sit-in customers in cafés and restaurants, followed by the introduction of the charge on disposable cups for takeaway coffees that can be avoided completely by using a keep cup.

The legislation will also give local authorities the power to use GDPR-compliant technologies such as CCTV to detect and prevent unsightly and illegal dumping and littering, among other measures.

This will help to discourage “fly-tipping”, which is a blight across the country.

Along with this, there will be changes to the sorting of commercial waste to ensure businesses segregate rubbish in the same way as households currently do with multiple bins.

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan described the publication of the bill as a "landmark moment" in this Government’s commitment to making the circular economy a reality in Ireland.

He said: "Through a mix of economic incentives and smarter regulation we can achieve far more sustainable patterns of production and consumption that move us away from the patterns of single-use and throw-away materials and goods that are such a wasteful part of our economic model now.

"We have to re-think the way we interact with the goods and materials we use every day if we are to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, because 45% of those emissions come from producing those goods and materials," he said.