Another 5p.

[longwayoff]

Starbucks is going to knock us for 5p per paper cup. We are already paying 5p per plastic carrier bag. Why are we paying for this? We consumers didnt ask suppliers to dispense with returnable glass bottles and paper bags and fill our lives with plastic. Having done so we now have to pay to get rid of it. It cant be impossible to make a recyclable coffee cup can it? I'm annoyed.

Biodegradable cups do exist.

They are adding 5p the cost because it is proven to work. Starbucks tastes awful and is over priced. Have one less cup of take away coffee for every 50 you buy and you will be in the same financial situation.

I do think it is easier to carry bag than a coffee cup but I rarely get take out drinks. I have even taken to taking tea to the local park rather than from the coffee shop on site and for a bonus the cup is much safer around little ones and I am saving money.

I agree that they should bring back returnable glass bottles and paper bags should be more widely used. It does seem ridiculous that this was all taken away and replaced with plastic without us getting a choice. Some supermarkets are considering using them for fruit/veg now which is great, this kind of thing should be mandatory.

I would also like to see more recycling options and for it to be made easier. I like the system they have in European countries where they have large recycling points on every street rather than small individual collections.

It would also be good for places that charge for bags to tell us more about it and get us involved. Have signs up promoting the charity and posters "look what you paid for last year" sort of thing.

I started with a reusable cup (a lovely lightweight insulated one) and then just started making my own coffee and bringing it with me. The whole thing has saved me a fortune!

Pret give 50p off if you use your own cup. Pretty generous imo.

So you're annoyed that the overpriced, sugar-laden drink that you buy as a result of a 90's SATC-style "trendy" identity is going to be £3.45 instead of £3.40 or whatever you pay now?

If it's too expensive then stop buying it. If you like coffee, drink NICE coffee. If you like tea, bring a teabag. If you like 14 spoons of sugar in your chai, well, count them out yourself.

Last year Starbucks made $22.4 billion.

"Starbucks faced a backlash in 2012 when it emerged the chain had paid just £8.6m of corporation tax in Britain over 14 years – despite racking up £3bn in cumulative sales over the period." (Telegraph)

Why not support a local independent business? You'll probably get better coffee, too.

If the 5p charge pisses people off enough that our net waste is reduced as a result, by whatever circuitous psychological route, then bring it on.

No, I don't carry money or a card. Use Apple pay via my phone or watch.

If the shop does not take card I don't shop there.

The whining take a flask of your own made up if you don't want to pay it. You might save some money.

Buy a reusable cup. That is what they are pushing for. You can get some that are not expensive and if you keep paying for the throwaway cups, you'll probably pay more then buying a reusable one now.

No, I don't carry money or a card. Use Apple pay via my phone or watch

Scarily dependant on the system there.

@woolythoughts Always, always carry some cash. It's surprisingly frequent how often there is a problem with cards readers. Only last month a glitch meant Visa cards couldn't be used for about an hour. I've often gone into places where their card machine was down. Which is fine if you can go somewhere else to get what you want, but not ideal if you've just bagged up all your shopping or filled your tank up with petrol.

Its not about the cup. Its about the consumer being expected to pay for cleaning up a mess we didnt ask for and were never consulted about. Who would choose to use plastic, full of toxins and non biodegradable, if there were an alternative on offer? And shush, I wouldnt set foot in starbucks if you paid me. i dont need, a cup. I wont be using a cup. I wont be paying for a cup. Its not about the cup. Its about a multi million dollar business charging consumers to clear up a mess of its own making.

Might be because the standard paper cups still have kind of a plastic lining.

I literally leave the house with keys and a phone. I don't carry a hand bag. Can't be doing with it.

[Hmm] And yet you're more than happy to return to your house carrying cheap-looking carrier bags and branded coffee cups, having paid multi-million pound businesses for the privilege of advertising their wares. Clever!

But as consumers we are massively contributing to the mess by using so much single use stuff. We need to take some responsibility.

Everyone complained about the charge for carrier bags when it came in but it has helped reduce the use of single use bags and makes people stop and think.

I have an Amex, a master card and a visa credit card and a debit card loaded into the wallet. Even when visa went down, the others worked.

There is £100 in notes hidden in the car for an absolute emergency but it hasn't been touched since I put it there over a year ago.

No, consumers made the mess by falling for the whole take out coffee culture. Had people not fallen for it, Starbucks wouldn't be the size it is now, making all those billions.

The selfish entitlement on this is eye watering.

There's lots of things we'd all probably rather not do as responsible members of society, but we do them because it benefits us all.

Its about the consumer being expected to pay for cleaning up a mess we didnt ask for and were never consulted about.

The consumer has asked for the mess that now needs cleaning up by dint of buying the coffee without bringing a reusable vessel to put it in.

YABU Starbuck's coffee is nasty.

I take the bags and put them in the car then use them as rubbish bags to line the bins.

I can't get worked up over advertising for multi million pound businesses.

I am more concerned about convenience for me.

No, I don't carry money or a card. Use Apple pay via my phone or watch

And what if the system fails and you've already filled up your car, for example? At least if you have a card, you can go to the ATM.

Bring your own. I have a little foldable bag and cup in my handbag. It's not a big issue for me but a big issue for the environment.
We should stop being the spoilt morons polluting the nature due to our laziness.

I can't get worked up over advertising for multi million pound businesses.

I am more concerned about convenience for me.

Every advertising executive's wet dream!

Starbucks who pay hardly any tax, make billions already - they certainly won't be giving all the 5ps to a marine conservation charity.

Take your own cup.

Starbucks currently give you a discount of 25p every time you took your own cup - sit in or takeaway. As long as that doesn't come to an end I don't really give a crap if they charge 5p for a single use tumbler. They sell reusable ones for £1.