Nearly 9-in-10 British people (87%) believe plastic lids on coffee cups are a significant source of environmental pollution and litter, according to a new poll. The poll – which was conducted on behalf of ButterflyCup, which has developed a new type of cup with integral lid – suggests that the majority of British coffee drinkers would support a ban on plastic coffee cup lids. More than 7-in-10 (73%) of those surveyed agreed that single-use plastic lids should be banned in the UK and almost 9-in-10 (87%) believe they are a “significant” source of environmental pollution and litter.
The survey of 2,079 UK adults followed a 2020 decision by the UK government to ban plastic straws, stirrers, and cotton buds. The government did not ban the use of plastic lids, however. The poll suggests that, at 73%, the number of those wanting to ban single-use lids is approximately the same as those who support a ban on single-use plastic straws (73%) and cutlery (71%). Only 8% disagree with a ban on plastic lids.
“The government must listen to the public and curb the use of single-use plastic lids in the same way it has done on similar plastic products like straws, stirrers, cutlery, and plates – all of which are being banned,” said Tommy McLoughlin, founder and c.e.o., ButterflyCup, a manufacturer of reusable, plastic-free beverage containers. "This noted that Britons throw away more than 5,000 takeaway coffee cups every minute, which equates to around 2.5 billion cups every year, with only 1 in 400 being recycled, according to a 2017 House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee report.
“The UK produces an ocean of single-use plastic lids every year which, even if they make it to a recycling center, are too small and light to be processed," said Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, which campaigns to reduce pollution caused by plastic. "This waste lives on for centuries in landfill or as litter causing untold damage to our environment and marine life. It is time policymakers take seriously the risk they pose to our natural world.”
According to the poll, nearly two thirds of those surveyed (63%) said they would pay more for an environmentally friendly alternative to a plastic lid. This is a marked increase from a similar poll in 2019 which found that only half of consumers would pay more for eco-friendly packaging (YouGov, 2019).
“This survey lifted the lid on the coffee cup and lid waste crisis,” said McLoughlin. “It shows that the delay in banning single-use plastic lids was not caused by a lack of public support. The government must listen to the public and curb the use of single-use plastic lids in the same way it did for plastic products such as straws, stirrers, cutlery, and plates – all of which are being banned. It is difficult to understand this glaring inconsistency in the government’s approach.”