Susan Gately
Every day in Ireland over 500,000 single use cups and 2.5 million bottles are disposed of through landfill and incineration. Eight million tonnes of plastic leaks into the ocean each year.
The Waste Reduction bill, progressing through the Dáil, aims to ban plastic cutlery / plates and establish a deposit/refund scheme (DRS) for glass, plastic and aluminium drinks containers.
Cutting down
“Anything that helps in the recycling and the disposal of waste in a way that is not damaging the environment or to the human community is good,” said Sr Catherine Brennan SSL from Eco Congregations, “but we should be cutting down on all these things because there is a huge issue with waste.”
Meanwhile the Conscious Cup Campaign which rewards people for switching to reusable cups is growing. Chains offering discounts include: Butler’s Chocolate Cafe (10c), Costa Coffee (35c), Starbucks (35c) and Insomnia (10c). Full list on https://consciouscup.ie