Analyzing Coffee Cup Waste: Monitoring, Control, and Reduction in UK

This essay examines the issue of coffee cup waste in the United Kingdom, where a large coffee market contributes significantly to environmental pollution. It highlights the challenges associated with recycling disposable coffee cups, which are typically lined with plastic, and the vast number of cups used and discarded annually. The essay discusses the environmental impact of coffee cup waste, including deforestation, chemical emissions, and energy consumption. It further analyzes the monitoring and controlling roles of both the government, through initiatives like the Clean Growth Strategy and the EU Waste Framework Directive, and consumers, who can contribute to waste reduction through responsible disposal and the use of reusable cups. The role of government officials is immensely important to reduce the coffee cup wastes. However, government should do more in order to reduce the number of coffee cups in United Kingdom, utilized each year as well as encourage better options of recycling. The essay concludes by emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts between government, businesses, and individuals to mitigate the environmental consequences of coffee cup consumption.

Running head: MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
Coffee Cup Waste in the United Kingdom and Measures Taken to Monitor, Control and Reduce
Them
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
Introduction:
Coffee cups wastes are required to the monitored, controlled and reduced. The United
Kingdom is one the biggest coffee markets in the world. The country has a immnense coffee
market where people of all class consume huge amount of coffee. In fact, coffee houses has
emerged as competitors of tea cafes both for consumers and revenue generation
(independent.co.uk 2018). The country’s coffee market has evolved into a battle of coffee sellers
of different sizes and nationalities. The United Kingdom is the home to world’s second largest
coffee chain, Costa (costa.co.uk 2018). The country is the host country to the largest coffee chain
in the world, Star Bucks which is based in the United States (starbucks.co.uk 2018). The United
Kingdom besides these multinational coffee chains has a large number of local shops. These
coffee outlets serve millions of consumers every year. The coffee industry generate billions of
revenue and provides employment to large number of people. However, the coffee industry has a
darker which perhaps overshadows all these bright aspects, the devastating impacts of coffee
cups on the environment. The plastic used in the coffee cups have devastating impact on the
environment which has necessitated the government of the United Kingdom place restriction to
monitor and reduce the use of plastic coffee cups. The essay would revolve around the
monitoring and reducing coffee cup waste in the United Kingdom.
Analysis:
Coffee cup pollution is one of the most extensive list of pollution categories that
marks up a significant amount of pollution of the European Country. In a report published
by the Environmental Audit committee Coffee Cups has been a disaster for the country as it
struggles to get rid of them. The committee has set out a strategy for the United Kingdom to deal
with the waste management system from the threat possessed by Britain’s love for coffee (Cho et

2
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
al. 2017). The UK coffee industry is a rapidly growing industry and almost half of all the coffees
and hot drinks are nowadays sold in disposable cups. There are more than four times as many
coffee shops nowadays in the country than that it used to be in the year 2000. Recent studies by
neutral organizations have shown that coffee is consumed by every 1 person among 5 persons in
the United Kingdom. Coffee is also widely available in different supermarkets and garages of the
mentioned country.
Disposable coffee cups are generally made up of paper and lined with plastic, which
makes the different kinds of cups waterproof in nature. The plastic lining is made in such a way
that they are waterproof in nature. The plastic lining is very hard to remove from the cups by
most of the recycling facilities. The used cups generally get contaminated by the contents of the
cup. Unfortunately the UK and the European Union does not consist of a market where food
packaging for contaminated paper is carried on (Lee 2015). Approximately around 2.5 million
coffee cups are used and thrown around each and every year in the mentioned European
Company. The amount of recycled cups amongst them is less than the estimated amount as
because such kinds of facilities do not exist in the country. Most of the people who consume
coffee in the country are not aware of such statistics as they think that the cups are easily
recycled. Therefore they tend to dispose these cups in waste bins more often. This sums up to a
huge problem as because the local municipal organization fails to dispose and recycle such a
huge number of cups. The absence of proper and effective strategies by the organizations as well
as the Government does not help the cause of the country as it piles up the misery (Cho et al.
2017). The extent of the pollution levels from the particular item is really a concern for the
authorities and immediate action is a must for avoiding any future crisis.

3
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
The love for coffee makes people totally forget about the price tag it pays for the
organization. The paper cups that are used by the organization by the organizations to serve
coffee to the customers are slowly building up and polluting the environment. The organizations
generally tend to fool the customers by describing them the use of paper cups rather than that of
plastic cups which tend to reduce the impact on the environment. There are different kinds of
problems that the paper cups tend to create, this includes the likes of;
a. Trees- Trees are one of the basic and most important problems where the paper cup
problem is affected most extensively. As mentioned earlier that approximately 2.5
million paper cups are wasted each and every6 year in United Kingdom. This highlights
the large amount of trees cut around per year to match the huge demand for these cups. A
study highlights that around 6.5 million trees are cut down each year and 4 billion gallons
of water are wasted each year. The cutting down of trees and absence of proper plantation
program in UK is surely one of the most devastating impacts of the environment. This
leads to a degraded ecosystem and is slowly leading the world into a gradual death.
b. Chemicals Emitted in the environment- The production and shipment of paper coffee
cups plays a major role in the pollution of the environment by Carbon dioxide and other
kinds of harmful gases. Apart from this the paper used in the coffee cups is harmful when
disposed in waters as because the chemical tends to mix with the waters and makes the
water contaminated (Jang et al. 2015). The trees though helps in the absorption of Carbon
dioxide but the uncontrolled cutting down of the trees results in the absence of the
absorption of carbon dioxide and as such increases the amount of pollution in the
country. A recent study shows that urbanization in different rural pockets of the United
Kingdom has also led to the increase in the amount of production of coffee cups.

4
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
c. Energy- The energy used in the production and transportation of different kinds of paper
coffee cups is in other words extensive. The emission of greenhouse gases is another
main concern for the country as extensive transportation increases the amount of
greenhouse emission. The wastage of energy thus makes it a large problem for the
country to take care of the environment.
The waste management and litter collection are devolved matters in the United
Kingdom. The developed Nations generally set their own recycling targets. However there are
two key areas where the UK has a joint approach to ensure that waste prevention and recycling
different kind of targets. The main developmental policies accepted by the government for
tackling the waste management problem.
a. By 2030 the government of United Kingdom will substantially reduce the waste
generation through prevention, reduction and recycling.
b. It will also encourage companies, especially large and transactional companies to
adapt to sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their
reporting cycle.
Monitor and controlling role of government:
The Government of United Kingdom has set out a new plan named Clean Growth Strategy
under which the Government has decided to set out a complete eradication plan of paper coffee
cups by the year 2030 and will also be constructing a number of new waste management centers
that are useful to tackle the problem of paper and effective waste disposal. Apart from this the
European Union Waste Framework Directive is the legislative framework governing the
collection, transport, recovery and disposal of paper coffee cups. The different counties of the

5
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
country are required to assess the amount of waste generated and also the amount of paper cups
that are disposed off (Cucuzzella 2016). The Government will assess the necessity of each of the
areas according to the amount of waste and then set up adequate facilities for the organization to
tackle the same. Coffee cup producers who generally put things in the market are required to
show that they have recycled through purchasing a PRN, a small percentage of the packaging
that they have put in the market. The price of PRN’s fluctuates according to the market price for
a particular kind of material. According to estimates a generalized packaging cost of packaging
waste is around pound 20 per tonne.
Apart from this the organizations producing, supplying and serving coffee to customers
through paper cups must take extra responsibility to reduce the use of these cups. These
organizations can think about using reusable hygienic mugs and totally discard the use of paper
cups after a time being (Cucuzzella 2016). It is also important for them to manage the
organization according to Government guidelines. Additionally the people of UK especially the
regular coffee consumers must take an important role to stop the destruction of the environment.
The role of government officials is immensely important to reduce the coffee cup
wastes. However, government should do more in order to reduce the number of coffee cups in
United Kingdom, utilized each year as well as encourage better options of recycling. In Britain
alone, around eight million take-away coffees are being bought each day. That is a lot of coffee
cups wastage, in addition to cup holders and coffee cup lids. The government officials should be
more concerned and start imposing rules on reducing coffee cup wastage. According to the big
coffee chains, the coffee cups should be recyclable so that the wastage gets reduced (Filimonau,
Krivcova and Pettit 2018). The government needs to ensure that the coffee cups manufactured by
the companies are recyclable, so that is does not impact the environment.

6
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
Moreover, it is highly necessary for the government officials to conduct recycling
campaigns for reducing the wastage of coffee cups. In addition to this, several alternative options
must be introduced, which can reduce their usage. Furthermore, the campaigns should be
organized by some celebrity or influential person, emphasizing upon its importance. Several
bigger chains should sign up and work in collaboration with each other in order to make good
efforts, when it comes to coffee cups recycling. It is easier to separate the recycling plants, which
would emphasize upon customer awareness as well. If the government officials take proper
initiatives regarding public awareness and education as well as the implications of the wastes,
then it would really make a huge difference in near future (Poortinga and Whitaker 2018).
Consumers also play a significant role in reducing the wastage of coffee cups, in
order to contribute to a sustainable environment. The consumers need to keep certain things
into consideration before disposing the coffee cups for minimizing the issue. The conventional
cups can get recycled; however, it can be done in special facilities. The lamination of the
conventional cups makes that waterproof. In addition to this, the companies can also
manufacture cardboard cups, which can be recycled in the regular recycling industries.
Consumers still have to keep this in mind that they dispose the cups in the right dustbin (Lee
2015).
Monitor and control role of consumers:
Moreover, the companies can also introduce edible cups, which are the ultimate waste
free cup. The consumers can munch on the coffee cups, prepared from cereals, like an ice-cream
cone. The cost of the coffee cups is not at all obvious to the customers as the cost is embedded
within the price of the customers, which they pay for their coffee. The individuals utilize
multiple cups in a single day, without knowing the obvious environmental repercussions. The

7
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
cost of environment using the disposable cups is in the resources and energy utilized for their
production. The disposable cups totally represent the overall essence of an over-consumptive
society, along with convenience (Govind 2015). Therefore, both government and target
customers play a major role in reducing the wastes of coffee cups.
The supply chains of the coffee cups have an important role to play to monitor,
reduce and control coffee cup wastes and their impacts. According to Beitzen-Heineke,
Balta-Ozkan and Reefke (2017), the coffee chains in the United Kingdom acquire their raw
materials from different countries like coffee is obtained from Brazil. The pollution caused by
coffee cup wastes in the United Kingdom have devastating impact on the environment. The
chains like Starbucks promote that the coffee cups they use are reusable and recyclable. The
reality is that less than a percent of the plastic cups are processed while very few waste
management plants have the facility to recycle waste coffee paper cups. Almost all the coffee
cups after being thrown away are released into rivers and lakes untreated. The plastic particles in
the coffee cups breakdown and have devastate the environment (Mohammed et al. 2017). Thus,
the supply chain can contribute towards reducing the pollution caused by coffee cups.
Monitor and controlling role of suppliers:
The supply chains should use less plastic in the packages and the coffee cups. They
should stress on using environment friendly materials like china clay vessels which can be
reused, thus reducing use of coffee cups. The suppliers can charge more fo plastic covered coffee
cups but give discounts on cups made from reusable materials, thus encouraging coffee chains to
acquire reusable cups (Kucukvar, Egilmez and Tatari 2014). Thus, supply chains can play
significant helping coffee chains reduce use of plastic covered cups.

8
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
The multinational companies like Costa and Starbucks have to important roles in
reducing, monitoring and management of coffee cup wastes. The used coffee cups which are
disposed by the consumers make their way into the water resources like oceans and rivers. The
huge amount of cups with their plastic layers contribute to their gobal plastic wastes. They choke
the water ways and prevent the flow of water. The plastic wastes choke rivers and lakes. They
block the barrages and dam gates. They cause immense loss to the hydropower generating
companies who have to spend immense amount of money tio clear the blocked gates
(thehindu.com 2018). The blocked water does not allow proper flow of oxygen and lead to
putrefaction of the wastes. The biodegradable wastes use up the oxygen in the confined masses
of water to breakdown. The aquatic animals living in the water like fishes and snails are deprived
of oxygen and thus die. Many companies use plant based plastics or bio-plastics and claim to
cause less pollution. Plastic breaks down only at very high temperatures while in nature water
and oxygen to some extent breakdown down bio-plastics (abc.net.au 2018). The plastic
particles form debris and float on the ocean surface and prevent sunlight from entering the water.
The phytoplankton fail to photo synthesize which means the food chain is hit right at the primary
level. The plastic in form of minute particles enter the bodies of fishes and is carried up the food
chain ultimately reaching man. Thus, it is evident that the multinational companies like Costa
should use cups made from reusable materials like china clay which can be reused. This would
have several positive impact to these companies and the environment.
Role of MNCs in controlling and monitoring coffee cups wastes:
First, use of cups made from reusable materials like china clay would reduce the coffee
cup wastes which would be disposed into the environment (Levy, Reinecke and Manning 2016).
Secondly, this would reduce the waste disposal and waste management expenditure of these

9
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
coffee chains. Thirdly, using china clay cups and vessels to serve would reduce the expenditure
of these coffee chains to acquire serving vessels. Thus, switching over to reusable vessels would
not only reduce coffee cup wastes but also reduce the expenditure of the companies (Dyck and
Silvestre 2018). These chains can create contingency funds which they can allocate towards
clearing coffee cup wastes around the shores of the United Kingdom. They can support
environment initiatives to reduce and monitor coffee cup wastes. This support from the
multinational companies would in turn put pressure on the small coffee cafes to use reusable
coffee cups to reduce plastic coffee cups wastes. Thus, the MNC coffee chains can act as drivers
of reduction and management of coffee cup wastes in and around the United Kingdom (Rueda,
Garrett and Lambin 2017).
Imbalance in case of environment sustainability has become a great issue in recent
days. The dynamic rise of globalisation is one of the detrimental outcomes in this case. There are
many reasons behind the same. One of the reasons is coffee cup wastage. It is required to reduce
the chances of environmental degradation and therefore, it is required to manage the solid waste
system. The role of society in this case is identical and usage of biodegradable cups or Styrofoam
cups is required to be introduced. It should be kept in mind that environment is affected on large
basis through all these staffs. Further, it is to be stated that recycling process regarding those
cups should be generalised with the purpose to protect the environment (Cucuzzella 2016). In
certain cases, it can be observed that those cups that could not be recycled, send for land filling.
In this way, the soil and water are affected. It also affects the societal health and therefore, a
global cooperation is needed to stop this thing. The UK government in this regard that has been
reported in the Environmental Audit Committee has taken certain strategies. The water resources
and the soil of UK are very much affected by this disposable coffee cups. Therefore, the British

10
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
government to ban the use of disposable coffee cups within 2023 has assured it. According to a
study, it has been found that UK use 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups per year. Further, certain
misconceptions over the recycling process of the coffee cups have made this process
complicated. Plastic polyethylene is used in the production of disposable coffee cups, which
could not be mix up with soil unlike the paper cups. In addition, set fire on such cups is quite
detrimental for the society. It has dire consequence on the air and it is getting polluted. Not all
these cups could be recycled properly and substances like tiny micro plastics are quite harmful
for human body (Poortinga and Whitaker 2018). A positive change in this regard is quite
necessary and society should have to take vital steps in this case. Hugh Fearnley (2016) was of
the view to start using paper coffee cup in lieu of plastic cups. In 2017, “Square Mile Challenge”
has been introduced in London where certain programs have been organised on disposable waste.
Social welfare system should have to be taken in this regard, a thorough change is required, and
much announcement regarding the usage of paper cups are required to be introduced on
worldwide basis. Proper recycling process regarding all those disposable cups is required.
Organising campaign could be effective in this case. Department for Environment, Food & Rural
Affairs (Defra) requires to provide additional supports in this regard. Re-usable cups are required
to be introduced and micro beads should be banned. The use of plastic resins are required to be
stopped and educate the people regarding the detrimental effect of the coffee cups are required in
these cases (Xing et al. 2015).
The stakeholders like the society, multinational coffee firms, consumers and
government should take up alternative measures to reverse the damage caused by coffee
waste disposal. First, coffee cups are made from paper which leads to felling of millions of trees
which in turn harms the environment. The MNC, consumers and government should get

11
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
involved in making artificial forests which would certain extent reduce the harm caused by mass
felling of trees. The plastic also devastate water resources like rivers and seas. The government
and the MNCs should pool funds and resources to clean up the plastic debris. These alternative
measures would help in reducing the damage caused by plastic coffee cup wastes to the
environment (Biswas-Tortajada and Biswas 2015). The reduction of plastic cup wastes would
automatically lead to bringing down the environmental damage in future.
Conclusion:
Thus, it can be concluded from the above discussion that reduction of plastic coffee cup
wastes is extremely important in reducing environmental degradation. The stakeholders like
society, government of the United Kingdom, consumers and multinational coffee chains have to
integrate their efforts to deal with the situation. The present volume of coffee cup wastes is too
huge to be reduced totally and the environmental damage caused already is irreversible.
However, taking steps to reduce coffee cup wastes can help in reducing future environmental
damages.

12
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
References:
Beitzen-Heineke, E.F., Balta-Ozkan, N. and Reefke, H., 2017. The prospects of zero-packaging
grocery stores to improve the social and environmental impacts of the food supply
chain. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, pp.1528-1541.
Biswas-Tortajada, A. and Biswas, A.K., 2015. Sustainability in coffee production: Creating
shared value chains in Colombia. Routledge.
Cho, J.S., Bae, H.J., Cho, B.K. and Moon, K.D., 2017. Qualitative properties of roasting defect
beans and development of its classification methods by hyperspectral imaging technology. Food
Chemistry, 220, pp.505-509.
Costa.co.uk. 2018. Store Locator - Find a Coffee Shop Near You | Costa Coffee. [online]
Available at: https://www.+6/locations/store-locator/ [Accessed 5 Jul. 2018].
Cucuzzella, C., 2016. Creativity, sustainable design and risk management. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 135, pp.1548-1558.
Dyck, B. and Silvestre, B.S., 2018. A Novel NGO Approach to Facilitate the Adoption of
Sustainable Innovations in Low-Income Countries: Lessons from Small-scale Farms in
Nicaragua. Organization Studies, p.0170840617747921.
Filimonau, V., Krivcova, M. and Pettit, F., 2018. An exploratory study of managerial approaches
to food waste mitigation in coffee shops. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 76,
pp.48-57.
Govind, M., 2015. Outsmart waste: the modern idea of garbage and how to think our way out of
it.

13
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
Jang, Y.J., Kim, W.G. and Lee, H.Y., 2015. Coffee shop consumers’ emotional attachment and
loyalty to green stores: The moderating role of green consciousness. International Journal of
Hospitality Management, 44, pp.146-156.
Kucukvar, M., Egilmez, G. and Tatari, O., 2014. Evaluating environmental impacts of alternative
construction waste management approaches using supply-chain-linked life-cycle analysis. Waste
Management & Research, 32(6), pp.500-508.
Lee, E., 2015. Caffeine Without Consequence: Implementing a Reusable Cup System at The
Daily Grind.
Lee, J., 2015. A study for increasing reusable cup consumption in the coffee industry: focused on
behavior change with motivation.
Levy, D., Reinecke, J. and Manning, S., 2016. The political dynamics of sustainable coffee:
Contested value regimes and the transformation of sustainability. Journal of Management
Studies, 53(3), pp.364-401.
Mohammed, M.I., Mohan, M., Das, A., Johnson, M.D., Badwal, P.S., McLean, D. and Gibson,
I., 2017. A low carbon footprint approach to the reconstitution of plastics into 3D-printer
filament for enhanced waste reduction. KnE Engineering, 2(2), pp.234-241.
Poortinga, W. and Whitaker, L., 2018. Promoting the Use of Reusable Coffee Cups through
Environmental Messaging, the Provision of Alternatives and Financial
Incentives. Sustainability, 10(3), p.873.

14
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE
Rueda, X., Garrett, R.D. and Lambin, E.F., 2017. Corporate investments in supply chain
sustainability: Selecting instruments in the agri-food industry. Journal of cleaner
production, 142, pp.2480-2492.
Starbucks Coffee Company. 2018. Starbucks coffee shops - Starbucks.co.uk. [online] Available
at: https://www.starbucks.co.uk/ [Accessed 5 Jul. 2018].
The Hindu. 2018. Garbage, plastic carry bags cause blocks in drainage, threaten flooding.
[online] Available at: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/Garbage-
plastic-carry-bags-cause-blocks-in-drainage-threaten-flooding/article15683487.ece [Accessed 5
Jul. 2018].
The Independent. 2018. Why the UK is addicted to coffee. [online] Available at:
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/coffee-in-the-uk-how-britain-
became-addicted-to-cafe-culture-uk-coffee-week-a6985691.html [Accessed 5 Jul. 2018].
UK Parliament. (2018). Plastic bottle and coffee cup waste inquiry launched - News from
Parliament. [online] Available at: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-
z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/news-parliament-2015/disposable-packaging-
coffee-cups-plastic-bottles-inquiry-launch-16-17/ [Accessed 6 Jul. 2018].
Weule, G. 2018. Plastic and how it affects our oceans. [online] ABC News. Available at:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2017-02-27/plastic-and-plastic-waste-explained/8301316
[Accessed 5 Jul. 2018].
Xing, A., Lai, E., Jin, J., Choi, M. and Qing, W., 2015. Effects of visual prompts on coffee cup
and plastic bag disposal: research project final report.

15
MONITORING COFFEE CUP WASTE