'It's like Groundhog Day': KeepCup founder on the challenge of returning to reusable coffee cups during a pandemic

July 2020 marks the 10-year anniversary of the "Plastic Free July" challenge, which urges Australians to reduce their consumption of single-use plastics.

Yet the coronavirus pandemic has thrown a spanner into our country's eco-conscious initiatives, with cafe owners instructed not to accept reusable coffee cups in the interests of public health and safety.

Though coffee continues to be served as lockdown eases, a new conundrum hovers over Australia's cafe culture: can we ever go back to using KeepCups?

READ MORE: Model Laura Wells on the trip that revealed Australia's plastic problem

Many Aussies have embraced reusable coffee cups in to combat the estimated one billion disposable cups that are used per year — yet we've had to abandon the practice in the face of the pandemic.

Abigail Forsyth, the co-founder of reusable coffee cup company KeepCup, says the recent step back to disposable cups is like "Groundhog Day" 

"Back in 2009 when we launched, we had to get a letter from the Government to say our cups were safe to use," she tells 9Honey.

"Now we're facing the same issue all over again."

Over the period of a year, the use of a KeepCup reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 92 per cent compared to disposable cups, according to the University of Melbourne.

Yet with cafes instructed to opt for single-use items, Forsyth explains her company is "back to addressing concerns around health fears that we faced right at the start."

"One of the most interesting insights we had was that people felt as though they didn't have permission to use the cup," she adds.

Ninety per cent of all disposable coffee cups in Australia end up in landfill, according to Biopak manufacturer Richard Fine, equating to around 60,000 kilograms of plastic waste a year.

They rank as the second largest contributor to litter after plastic bottles.

Forsyth explains she was in touch with local governments to provide instruction on "how to reuse cups safely" during the pandemic.

However, she found fear of contagion took precedence to environmental protection - even as lockdowns start to lift.

"That's when we realised how important it was to make it 'socially acceptable' to refill a coffee cup," Forsyth explains.

A recent study conducted by 130 international scientists, academics and doctors, confirmed "reusable systems can be utilised safely during the pandemic by employing basic hygiene."

The study added: "Household disinfectants have been proven effective at disinfecting hard surfaces, such as reusable cups and containers."

Forsyth explains that while there has been hesitation to using reusable cups again, there is more "momentum" behind the banning plastic movement than when she first began her business over a decade ago.

She believes recent events have been keen motivators in re-evaluating the way we practice environmental sustainability.

"The COVID-19 pandemic and recent Black Lives Matter movement has forced a rethink of the way we interact, with each other and the natural world," Forsyth says.

"It's given us pause to consider what matters most and clearly shown us how we can effectively drive change when we band together.

"What we don't want is a return to 'normal' which saw species threatened with extinction, 8.2 billion kilograms of plastic waste flooding our oceans each year, racial inequality and a widening gap between rich and poor.

"Understanding the depth of the problem and how we need to turn off the plastic tap, will help us inform small changes to make in our lives."

READ MORE: Meet the woman who changed the way Aussies drink coffee

Plastic-Free July runs all month, with Australians encouraged to reduce the amount of plastic items they use — including single-use bags, coffee cups and containers.