2.5 billion disposable coffee cups are thrown away every year in the UK, with only 1% of them being recycled. Costa Coffee, the largest coffee chain in the UK, is blocking governmental efforts to deal with this waste crisis.

It is estimated that it takes 100 000 trees a year to fuel the UK’s coffee habit, yet Costa Coffee refuses to be accountable for its contribution to deforestation and landfill use.

By blocking efforts to change consumer habits, Costa Coffee is preventing the necessary steps needed to protect the environment from this needless waste of precious natural resources.

Tell Costa Coffee to support disposable coffee cup reduction strategies.

Costa chains account for almost half of all coffee shops across the UK and that number is only going to expand in the coming years. Given its share of the market, its contributions to waste are significant.

The environmental audit committee recently released a list of recommendations, including that a 25p tax per disposable cup be put in place to encourage customers to bring their reusable mugs. The measures have been tested already and it’s estimated they would reduce coffee cup waste by 300 million cups a year.

By actively blocking government recommendations for disposable coffee cups, Costa Coffee is sending a strong message that its profits are more important than the environment.

SumOfUs has fought similar schemes to challenge waste reduction -- and won. Earlier this year over 65 000 of you signed a petition to challenge Coca-Cola’s lobbying against deposits on plastic bottles and you succeeded in getting Coca-Cola to change its mind and stop blocking the proposal. Now you have another opportunity to reduce excess waste and show Costa that the environment is more important than its profit margins.

Sign the petition today to tell Costa Coffee to stop blocking efforts to reduce disposable coffee cup waste.