SOCIAL Democrats councillor Elisa O’Donovan has called on the Council to pilot a reusable cup scheme in partnership with local cafes and 2GoCup to reduce single use coffee cups in Limerick City.
Cllr O’Donovan told Limerick City and County Council that her proposal came on the back of engagement with different parties. She took the view that Limerick, as a city, was getting quite good at carrying reusable cups prior to the COVID pandemic, eliminating single use cups.
“Since COVID we’ve seen a marked increase in coffee shops using single use coffee cups. I was also chatting to a few people and they were saying that when they bring their reusable cups, sometimes, for hygiene reasons and things like that, they are not allowed use them,” she said.
“I think there is something we can do as a Council and that is to try and encourage this. This is very much in line with the city centre plan and seeing how we can incentivise businesses to be more sustainable.”
Supporting Cllr O’Donovan’s motion, her party colleague Cllr Shane Hickey-O’Mara took the view that this was an idea “more than worth pursuing”.
“None of us is perfect when it comes to remembering to bring our keep cups. Linking in our local cafes is key. It will contribute to improving the state of our city while also supporting cafes to cut coffee cup costs. It’s a win-win and will contribute to the Limerick City Retail initiative,” Cllr Hickey-O’Mara enthused.
In response, Limerick City and County Council explained that in conjunction with the Southern Regional Waste Planning
Office, it intends to progress a Green Business Hub in the Limerick Metropolitan area similar to the Adare Green Business Hub – National Pilot Project.
“Consideration will be given to the inclusion of a pilot reusable cup scheme as part of that project in addition to other waste prevention initiatives,” the Council stated.