Reusable-cup requirements passed by the New South Wales parliament have prompted a backlash from hospitality businesses, which warn they could face additional costs and difficult logistical arrangements.
Under the reforms, food-service businesses in NSW will have to accept customers’ reusable cups from 2028. Voluntary reusable-cup schemes will also be introduced, while large businesses will be required to offer a reusable option from 2030.
Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the changes would not amount to a ban on single-use cups. She said they would instead need to be recyclable for household recycling bins by 2028.
The NSW Government has rejected suggestions that accepting customer-owned cups would significantly increase costs for small businesses, arguing that cafes could save money on disposable cups and lids.
But hospitality figures have questioned how reusable-cup schemes would operate in practice, including how cups would be returned, replaced and cleaned.
Marino Plagiotis, owner of Elixir Sabor cafe, said operators did not want to take on further expenses.
“We don’t want to absorb any more costs than we already are,” he said.
Mr Plagiotis also raised questions about deposits and the process for recovering cups from customers.
“How do we get cups back from the customer? Do they leave a deposit?” he said. “It’s a logistical nightmare for people in a rush.”
Wes Lambert, chief executive of the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association, said the proposal showed a lack of understanding of small businesses.
“[It’s] another example of a government who does not understand small business,” he said.
Mr Lambert added: “To be able to replace millions and millions of disposable coffee cups with reusable coffee cups, it’s just operationally not possible. It’s impossible for businesses to absorb additional expenses.”
Ms Sharpe said cafes would have to provide reusable mugs or glasses for customers dining in, while accepting clean reusable cups brought by takeaway customers.
She said small businesses would be exempt from having to offer a reusable cup or mug, and that cafes would be allowed to refuse dirty cups.
The Government plans to trial reusable-cup schemes on NSW Government premises and establish a reuse precinct in central Sydney.
Ms Sharpe said the plastics plan and legislation had been subject to three years of consultation, with regulations to be developed in close cooperation with small businesses.
