Leader comment: Ditch disposable cups now

It's a familiar picture on every street and in office '“ people walking along clutching a takeaway coffee in a disposable cup.

The huge growth of the takeaway coffee market has created a big problem with the waste caused by use of disposable cups.

But whilst very convenient for the customer, little thought is given to what happens to these millions of cups once they are thrown away.

The Marine Conservation Society found that the vast majority of people would be all for a charge on single-use cups. By doing so, and encouraging people to use a refillable cup we would all be taking a small step which goes a long way.

Since we had to start paying for a single plastic bag most of us soon got into the way of using a “bag for life” of some sort when shopping.

We have already shown that we can transform our habits when required to. Let’s back this call to help the planet with another change in our ways.