Not a planned part of business, the proposals came from two members of the back benches: Labour Councillor Peter MacDonald, and Conservative Councillor Malcolm Glass. The two proposals, which were debated and voted on together, involved the Council committing to cease provision of single-use non-recyclable plastics at Council outlets within a planned timeframe, and for the Council to take forward actions to encourage the recycling of single-use coffee cups in the town centre. Both were passed unanimously.
Plastic waste has become a major issue over recent years. Across the world, just an estimated 10% of plastic waste is recycled. In 2016, 1,244,774 tonnes of packaging were sent to landfill. Environmental campaigners Greenpeace estimate that 12.7 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans every year.
A particular issue is disposable hot beverage cups – which make up almost half of all hot drinks sold in the UK. A dramatic 2.5 billion are used annually, or 7m per day. It is estimated that this figure will become 3.7billion per year by 2025. At present, although hot beverage cups can be recycled, almost all go to landfill, with only 3 recycling plants in the UK able to process them.
Cllr Malcolm Glass said: “There is a huge national issue regarding the disposal and recycling of take away hot beverage cups and plastic bottles. Nationally 7 million coffee cups are used every day, and because they are cardboard lined with plastic, they cannot be recycled in the normal way. Only 1% are recycled. At present, almost all single-use coffee cups discarded in Bromsgrove will go to landfill.
“We are lucky to have a thriving town centre with dozens of cafes and businesses selling takeaway coffee, and are perfectly placed to send a powerful signal to nearby town centres by taking action on such a dramatic, visible example of waste.”