25p 'latte levy' on disposable coffee cups would hit poorest hardest, hospitality groups warn

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A 25p “latte levy” on disposable cups would hit the poorest Scots in the pocket and may not meet its eco goals, hospitality groups have warned. The Scottish Government is consulting on proposals for a 25p single-use cup charge which it hopes will drive the country towards reusable cups and tackle litter and waste.

In its response to the consultation, however, trade body UKHospitality Scotland warned the levy would be “regressive”. And it pointed to how similar policies in Portugal and Vancouver, Canada, had been later abandoned.

In Vancouver, lawmakers repealed a 25 cent disposable cup fee after it failed to change consumer behaviour and adversely affected vulnerable populations. SNP ministers hope to model the policy on the successful introduction 2014 carrier bag charge which virtually wiped out single-use plastic bags in shops and supermarkets.

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Leon Thompson, Executive Director of UKHospitality Scotland, said: “At a time when Scottish consumers are understandably being more discerning with their disposable income, the prospect of a tax on disposable cups is nonsensical. The ‘latte levy’ would increase the cost of an affordable drink, like a takeaway coffee, and disproportionately hit lower-income customers.

"We agree with the Scottish Government’s commitment to progressive taxation policies, but this would be the opposite. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence and international precedent that sets out why this charge doesn’t work, and the Scottish Government should save itself time and money by abandoning these proposals.”

We told last week how litter campaigners hailed the plan as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to clean up our streets with nearly 400million disposable cups used in Scotland every year. Research in 2019 suggested the single-use cup charge would lead to a behaviour change in 49 per cent of the population.

The Scottish Government said the policy could help tackle the 5400 tons of waste caused by discarded cups every year.

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