Disposable coffee cup madness

I believe in the virtues of capitalism and the benefits that the private sector brings to the masses through free choice and efficiency; however, what I don't support is serving coffee in cardboard cups. Capitalism has a social and environmental aspect; we all understand the need to create profits but these shouldn't come at the expense of society and the environment.

As both consumers and shareholders, we have the ability to dictate corporate decision-making through our purchasing power and habits. The major issue with disposable coffee cups is that they are mostly not recyclable and end up in landfill - this is a terrible outcome for everybody. This is not only inefficiency, this wastage is detrimental to the environment with the plastic caps and cardboard insulators adding to the waste. Single use plastic bags are being phased out in Western Australia and one hopes the policy may be extended to disposable coffee cups to protect the environment.

Strategies may include a levy on disposable coffee cups to change consumer behaviour as a deterrent although I would prefer to raise awareness through a shared ideals. As I believe in free choice, we as consumers can exercise our free choice and choose to not purchase our coffee in disposable cups instead selecting our coffee served in real cups and not rely on government intervention. As a collective group, we have the ability to change corporate behaviour through consumer behaviour.