Sign In / Register
Hub Matakana has become a plastic-free café, ditching single-use cups (SUCs) to reduce the amount of rubbish they produce.
The café is offering customers a range of alternatives, including refundable reusable cups, second-hand cups for $1, or simply enjoying a coffee at the cafe.
Owner Angelica Garcia Petersen says that although many single-use cups are marketed as recyclable or eco-friendly, they are not as environmentally friendly as people might think.
“The plastic inside the SUCs is not compostable,” she said. “I compost my own coffee and paper napkins. I tried with the cups, but they have a plastic liner and it contaminates the recycling.”
Angelica said that after completing a permaculture design course, she realised how important it was to protect the environment and how small changes could make a significant difference.
“Education is the best resource we have to raise awareness about the importance of sorting waste correctly.
“Often people don’t read the recycling instructions properly and end up contaminating the recycling.”
However, Angelica said recycling was only the third principle of waste minimisation, with reducing waste and reusing items being even more important.
She said there were places around New Zealand using reusable stainless-steel cups that could be purchased at one café and returned to another.
She hoped that Matakana and the surrounding areas would one day be free of SUCs, but recognised that achieving this would be challenging.
