SCOTTISH civil servants will have to start using their own mugs when ordering flat whites, Americanos, lattes and espressos from the work’s canteen.
Staff in St Andrew’s House and Victoria Quay in Edinburgh and Glasgow’s Atlantic Quay, have been told to prepare for single-use plastics to be scrapped in the cafes and canteens of power.
Ceramic mugs will be provided for those sitting in after the change is implemented on June 4.
The government said the move would stop 450,000 cups from being thrown away each year.
Scotland’s Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “The Scottish Government is determined to lead by example when it comes to tackling the scourge of plastic littering our countryside and polluting our seas.
“By removing single-use coffee cups from our main buildings, we will prevent 450,000 cups from being thrown away every year. That’s enough cups to cover the distance between Edinburgh and Dundee.
“We support the EU’s vision to reduce single-use plastics as far as possible and ensure any single-use plastics are easily recyclable by 2030.”
Cunningham added that the government was looking to see if any other single-use items used in official offices could be “reduced and removed”.
Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael said it was time to act nationally: “In January, Scottish Liberal Democrats uncovered that the Scottish Government were burning through a scandalous 1200 single-use cups a day and challenged them to lead by example in reducing their coffee cup waste.
“It’s great news they’ve finally agreed to tackle their throwaway culture in Government buildings but the next step is to stop dithering and commit to introducing a Scotland-wide ‘latte levy’ so that single-use cups are sent packing”.
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