London latte-lovers landed with dearer takeaway cups in Starbucks

Starbucks will add a 5p charge to paper takeaway cups at 35 coffee shops in London, sending proceeds to environmental advocacy group Hubbub.

Simon Redfern, chief of communications at Starbucks Europe, said “We’re hoping that this charge will remind customers to rethink their use of single-use plastic-lined cups, as it has with plastic bags. We’ve offered a reusable cup discount for 20 years, with only 1.8 per cent of customers currently taking up this offer, so we’re really interested in working with Hubbub to see how this charge could help to change behaviour and help to reduce waste.”