NSW government backflips on takeaway coffee cup rules after café backlash
Cafés across New South Wales will no longer be forced to serve dine-in customers with ceramic mugs or glassware, and participation in reusable cup schemes will remain entirely voluntary, the state government announced today.
The two major concessions to the NSW Plastics Plan 2.0 framework follow intense pushback from café owners and small business advocates, who voiced deep concerns about the financial toll of mandatory measures in an already punishing economic climate.
Cafés across New South Wales will no longer be forced to serve dine-in customers with ceramic mugs or glassware. iStockphoto
“The NSW Government is making two changes to reforms that reduce plastic waste, to give small businesses certainty,” Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe said in a statement today.
“Cafés will not be required to offer a mug or glass to dine-in customers.
“The legislation was designed to give customers the option of a mug or glass when enjoying a coffee in a café, rather than only being offered a disposable takeaway cup.
“But we’ve heard the concerns from small businesses, and we won’t be requiring cafés to purchase any additional cups or change the way they operate.
“We’re also making it clear that there will be no mandatory reusable cup schemes. These schemes allow cafés to partner with cup providers, so customers can borrow a reusable cup.”
Sharpe said while the Minns government had initially intended to carve out exemptions for small venues down the track, today’s announcement was made to draw a line under the issue immediately.
“We’re making it clear that there will be no mandatory reuse schemes,” she clarified, noting the move was designed to “remove all concern”.
“Some businesses are already choosing to do this on their own, and they are welcome to do so.”
The two major concessions follow intense pushback from café owners and small business advocates. iStockphoto
Despite dropping the two contentious mandates, the government confirmed the broader rollout of its anti-plastics strategy remains on course. Under the ongoing timeline, single-use takeaway coffee cups will still need to meet strict recyclability standards, and venues will be legally required to accept customers’ clean, hygienic personal reusable cups.
“The legislation also phases-out plastic items such as bread tags, balloon sticks, microbeads and soy sauce fish containers,” Sharpe added.
The policy retreat has drawn mixed reactions from leaders in the sustainable packaging sector.
Huskee founder and BioPak Chief Sustainability Officer Saxon Wright – currently spearheading the Borrow by Huskee reusable cup trial across Sydney’s Barangaroo precinct – described the government’s sudden pivot as “perhaps a little reactive”.
However, he acknowledged there had been challenges in communicating the original policy effectively from the outset.
Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe announced the changes today. iStock
“I do think, though, that there wasn’t enough clarity provided, and I think a lot of the reaction is probably just because it wasn’t clear,” Wright told nine.com.au.
He also pushed back against claims from industry lobbyists that reusable systems would inevitably strain café balance sheets, calling the widespread panic “probably overblown”.
“I think there’s been a little bit of misinformation about what was actually proposed and people have reacted to that,” Wright said.
“We obviously want to get behind small businesses and ensure they are able to run their venues well. However, I think the cost implications are probably overblown. I don’t think reuse is as expensive as it’s being made out to be.
“Using reusables isn’t really a huge cost implication for cafés, so there’s a sense that it’s very expensive when I don’t necessarily think it has to be. It can pretty much run at cost parity to the equivalent compostable packaging that’s in the market.”
Still, Wright conceded a one-size-fits-all approach is unrealistic for every operator.
“I think reuse absolutely has a place, but in the right place, in the right context, with the right infrastructure. It’s a great solution. That should be balanced with venues that only can operate with single-use, and where that makes sense, too,” he said.
‘I think reuse absolutely has a place, but in the right place.’ iStock
“Everyone just kind of assumed everything applied to everyone, and they just didn’t have the clarity.
“So we need policy that’s clear, and we need policy that has actual real-world outcomes, and we need to support small businesses and give them an appropriate journey that clearly helps them deliver what they need to do.”
