Reducing landfill with every cuppa

Locals can help Australia's environment and save money every time they have a coffee just by purchasing a Broken Hill KeepCup.

The high-quality reusable coffee cups are now available for just $20 at Chalky’s, Charlotte’s, Silly Goat, Silver City Café and the Royal Exchange Coffee Window, along with all Council facilities.

Reusable cups have gained popularity in recent times due to the large number of disposable cups that end up in landfill or littering the countryside.

Council's Chief Operations Officer, Anthony Misagh, said the cups were one way Broken Hill could contribute to a better environment.

"We don't see this as a Council initiative, it's really something for the whole of the city to get behind," he said.

"It's a zero-profit initiative from Council’s perspective, it's all about getting disposable cups out of the retail system where possible, and lessening the city's environmental impact and contribution to landfill."

Mr Misagh said the impact of disposable cups was staggering, and often overlooked due to the large amount of paper and cardboard used in their construction.

"More than 50,000 cups are used in Australia every 30 minutes, and most of them end up in landfill," he said.

"What many people don't realise is that most of these cups have a polyethylene or wax coating to make them waterproof, which in turn means they can't be recycled as recycling facilities generally can’t distinguish which cups can be processed and recycled.

"The end result is a huge mass of waste in landfill, and a significant impact on the environment."

Aside from the environmental benefits, Mr Misagh said the reusable cups would provide financial savings, and are of high quality finish and material.

"We're extremely impressed with the quality of the cups, they look really impressive and they're very sturdy," he said.

"And most of the coffee shops around the city provide a discount if you bring your own cup, so the cups will pay for themselves in no time and start providing a saving to the owner.

"We think they'll be a very popular item, not just with locals, but also with tourists, and as gifts for ex-locals."