by Cam Lucadou-Wells
An environment group has called for ‘last drinks’ on single-use disposable cups at the Springvale Community Hub café.
The café’s landlord Greater Dandenong Council has been urged to mandate reusable cups to set the standard for other outlets.
Greater Dandenong Environment Group president Isabelle Nash says the Hub should be a “shining” example as a six-star sustainability building.
“We want this café to cease serving drinks in single-use disposable cups and instead provide only reusable cups for customers.
“Customers at the café/kiosk usually purchase their hot drinks and then stay in the vicinity to enjoy the community facilities, so providing single-use cup use does not make sense.”
A mandatory reusable cup requirement would set an “admirable standard” for other cafes and kiosks, Nash said.
“This small implementation to support sustainability in contracts like this one for the café/kiosk, will put the City of Greater Dandenong in a leading position demonstrating a fantastic example of what a council who is dedicated to sustainability action to better our world looks like.”
Meanwhile, the café owner Siva Kanteti argues that reuseable cups were not viable at the Hub.
Hand-washing and drying porcelain cups cost litres of water and staff time, he said.
“We want to do the right thing. But when you add it all up, I don’t see using a reuseable cup as a benefit.”
His business Frankie & Co instead used biodegradable cardboard cups, which could be disposed in recycling bins, Kanteti said.
It had also offered edible cups, which cost up to $1 a cup extra and were made overseas.
“We kept them for two or three months and sold about three or four of them. We’ve moved them over to our Narre Warren café.”
Greater Dandenong chief executive Jacqui Weatherill said that under the lease, the tenant had “exclusive rights” to operate the business with interference from the council.
“There is no clause within the current lease regarding mandatory use of reusable cups however we have had some discussions with the operator to encourage this.
“Council will continue to discuss more sustainable options with the tenant and any future lease that Council negotiates for these premises will have a range of special sustainability conditions included within it.”
The lease is nearing the end of its first term of three years, with two further option terms of three years.
“Sustainability options” would be considered as part of negotiations on continuing the lease, the council’s governance acting manager Dani Trimble told a council meeting last month.
