More than 7 million coffee cups are thrown away every single day. It’s why we’re campaigning for a charge on disposable cups – and now that campaign has been backed by an influential group of MPs.

The following article was written by the former Leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron and published on 5th Jan on the Lib Dem Website.

MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee have published a report backing Liberal Democrat calls for a charge on disposable coffee cups.

The Committee has called on the Government to introduce a 25p levy on disposable coffee cups and a target to ensure they are all recycled by 2023.

The Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for a charge on coffee cups since September 2016 and were the only party to include the policy in their 2017 Manifesto.

The policy would build on the success of the 5p charge on plastic bags introduced by the Liberal Democrats in government, which has slashed usage in England by over 80%.

The Liberal Democrats were the only party to include the policy in their 2017 Manifesto.

I’m glad our call for a coffee cup charge is gaining traction.

The evidence is clear that these levies work – the 5p charge on plastic bags has massively reduced usage and helped protect our environment.

The government must introduce a levy on disposable coffee cups as soon as possible, starting with its own catering services.

Every day that ministers sit and do nothing, another half-a-million cups will end up needlessly littering our towns and countryside.