COROMIND ISSUE 18 JUN24 ONLINEVERSION - Flipbook - Page 20
A CHANGE
BREWiNG
The push to eliminate single use cups in Mercury Bay
Remember the days in Aotearoa when a
co昀昀ee purchased away from home involved
a ceramic cup, a saucer, a tablecloth and
possibly a custard square on the side?
When we enjoyed the whole ambience of
a quaint co昀昀ee lounge, a friendly chat, the
delicious smells and the people who seated
us, served us and cleaned our dishes in a sink
of hot water. (Well, if you are Gen Z or younger
you may not remember – but I promise it was
a thing.)
Then along came the espresso machine and,
oddly, the take-out cup followed closely
behind.
Suddenly co昀昀ee was essential to modern
existence – and the fashionable way to
consume it was on the move!
Thanks to this fad, New Zealanders currently
send more than 295 million single-use cups
to land昀椀ll each year.
In Mercury Bay alone, around 250,000 cups
each year, disguised as something that looks
either recyclable or compostable, are handed
over to ca昀昀eine consumers, enough to stretch
from Whitianga to Tairua if stacked end to
end.
Now, thanks to the team behind SUC Free
Mercury Bay, driven by Wāhi Tukurua (the
local resource recovery centre), our guilty
pleasure is on track to becoming guilt free
– right here in Te-Whanganui-a-Hei – with
Colenso Cafe and Nook. Grocer + Re昀椀lls
being amongst the 昀椀rst to jump on board.
The move is aligned with work already
done in Aotea/Great Barrier Island which
has eliminated the single-use cup from its
community and Wānaka which is well into
the phase out process. Customers in these
regions can now choose to bring their own
cup, borrow from a cup library or pay $10 for
a stainless-steel cup which can be returned
to any participating outlet for a refund. Or
... they can also sit at a table, relax and enjoy
their cuppa in comfort.
SUC Free spokesperson Ti昀昀any Reed says
a large part of the problem has been the
confusion over a single-use cup’s life cycle.
“People think they are made of cardboard so
will either break down or be recycled. The
fact is they are lined with plastic – that’s why
your co昀昀ee doesn’t leak out! Even the ones
that claim to be compostable usually need
a commercial grade composter which most
areas in NZ don’t have. Besides most takeaway cups end up in council rubbish bins
amongst all the general waste. From there it’s
straight to the land昀椀ll.”
Coromind | 19
Colenso Cafe owners Dean and Leah Jackson
had been working to make positive change
for some time before speaking with the SUC
Free team. Dean says they were already
composting all the used paper towels and
napkins which then went back into their
gardens. He said single-use cups were not in
line with their values, so needed to go.
“We are surprised how many people aren’t
aware of the waste they generate and the
impact this has,” says Dean. “I guess this
stems from the convenience, fast-fast, needit-now culture where so many people are too
busy looking down, or at their screens!”
Georgia Gilsenan-Fitzgerald, owner of
Whitianga’s Nook- Grocer + Re昀椀lls, says she
originally had a boomerang system using
regular mugs, and she also sold ‘keep-cups’,
but still had to keep single-use cups for some
customers.
“The premise of my business is
environmentally focused, trying to get away
from packaging,” says Georgia, who o昀昀ers
package-free groceries which people can
purchase in their own containers.
“I think a lot of my regulars were
environmentally conscious, but it was
surprising how few people do use the keepcups.”
Nook- Grocer + Re昀椀lls, like Colenso Cafe,
is now using the Chunky Cup system –
customers pay $10 for the cup which is
refundable – but Georgia says most people
either keep reusing the same cup or swap it
for a clean one the next time they purchase.
Wāhi Tukurua have been meeting with
business owners one-on-one to explain the
phase out plan, but they need help. The group
received some funding from the Seagull
Centre in Thames which they were able to
spend on promotion, but have not yet secured
funding to employ a full-time ambassador to
work with business owners.
‘So now we are looking for an army of
volunteer ambassadors who can adopt a café
and support them through change,” says
Ti昀昀any.
Ti昀昀any, Dean and Georgia all believe if other
communities can phase out the throw-away
cups, then our community can do the same.
Words by
Sharyn Morcom