Laois launches eco friendly returnable cup scheme for cafés

An exciting new eco campaign to reduce single-use coffee cups in Laois might see them go the same way as the once ubiquitous plastic shopping bag.

Laois Council Council and 2GoCup are launching a major new environmental campaign to dramatically reduce single-use coffee cups in towns around the county.

A three-month pilot project has been launched in Portlaoise, with six participating cafes offering an option of reusable and stylish 2GoCups.

As part of this environmentally friendly campaign, the cafes will each receive 500 stylish keep cups free from Laois City Council and 2GoCup.

Launching 2GoCups in Portlaoise are Pamela Tynan, Laois County Council, Cathaoirleach Cllr Thomasina Connell, Kevin Murphy CEO 2GoCup), Gerry Browne Portlaoise Tidy Towns chair, Patricia O’Rourke, Laois County Council and staff from The Pantry, Café Latte, The Bay Tree, SuperValu, Chocolate Brown and Square Coffee. Photo: Michael Scully

A customer will pay €1 to ‘borrow’ the 2GoCup and this will be refunded when they return the cup.

Alternatively, they can swap it for free for a similar cup at any of the participating businesses.

Disposable coffee cups are a considerable source of litter that their volunteers of Portlaoise Tidy Towns pick up weekly.
 
Suzanne Dempsey is Environmental Awareness Officer with Laois City Council.

“Disposable coffee cups are increasingly popular, and we need to come up with alternatives as in Ireland, we dispose of 200 million coffee cups every year. That’s a whopping 560,000 each day going to landfill or incineration.

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“Disposable coffee cups are a considerable source of litter that their volunteers of Portlaoise Tidy Towns pick up weekly. There are huge environmental consequences with this in terms of litter, waste and climate. I commend the six local businesses involved in the project who are leading the way in bringing about a local circular economy”.
 
The businesses taking part in the three-month pilot project are: The Pantry, Café Latte, The Bay Tree, Supervalu, Chocolate Brown and Square Coffee.

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This campaign is being supported by the Laois County Council and Portlaoise Tidy Towns.

For more information, visit www.laoiscity.ie/useyourmug.