Central Coast Council have distributed 1,200 keep cups to local cafés to provide to their customers free of charge in an effort to reduce single use coffee cup litter.

The initiative forms part of Council’s commitment to the Hey Tosser! campaign this financial year, which continues to remind residents and visitors to dispose of waste responsibly.

Mayor Jane Smith, is encouraging the community to add use of reusable coffee cups to their list of new resolutions.

“The new year and summer holidays provide the perfect time to start a new habit,” Mayor Smith said.

“With so many avid coffee drinkers on the Coast, distributing the reusable coffee cups is a simple way Council is helping to do their part to enable to community and help reduce litter to keep the Coast clean.

“By remembering to take your own reusable keep cup, not only are you helping to reduce waste, you may also be eligible for a discount.

“Alternatively, if you do forget your reusable coffee cup, you can take a seat and enjoy your cuppa at your local café.

“Council are leading by example when it comes to reducing their waste by implementing initiatives to encourage staff to also use their own reusable coffee cups.

“With around one billion single use coffee cups ending up in landfill every year, reusable coffee cups can help reduce this statistic one coffee at a time.

Even though single use coffee cups are mostly made from paper, the different types of plastic lined, wax-coated and polystyrene cups manufactured, makes it difficult to determine the difference between products, which is why they are not recycled here on the Central Coast.

Mayor Smith is urging residents and visitors to make sure they are disposing of all their waste correctly.

“Summer is one of the busiest times of the year for the Central Coast and unfortunately this season there has been an increase in litter on our beaches and in our reserves,” Mayor Smith added.

“Take away containers account for 24 per cent of litter in New South Wales, so please, if you do find yourself in need of using a single use coffee cup, or have any other rubbish with you, ensure it is placed in the waste bins provided or take it home with your to place in your red-lidded bin.”

“It is all our responsibility to ensure we protect our pristine waterways and valleys from plastics and pollution.”

Visit centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/littering for the list of cafés participating in Council’s reusable coffee up initiative as well as information on helping to prevent litter and how to report littering from a vehicle.