If every person in the Blue Mountains buys one cup of takeaway coffee each day, there are thousands of cups chucked into landfill each week.
In a bid to make Mountains residents more environmentally conscious and to help those on a budget, the Winmalee Neighbourhood Centre came up with a grand plan. See if businesses selling coffee would offer a discount for those who bring their own cup.
“A lot of our clients can’t afford a coffee,” said neighbourhood centre manager Morna Colbran.
It saves the environment and gives back to the community.
- Mick Camilleri
“For some the biggest outing of the week is having a coffee, so we thought lets explore this."
Ms Colbran approached La montagna cafe and deli owner Sarbjit Singh, and Donut King owner Mick Camilleri in the Winmalee Shopping Complex, and they were only too happy to take part.
“It saves the environment and gives back to the community,” said Mr Camilleri, who is offering a five per cent discount for bringing your own cup.
“One small step makes a difference.”
Mr Singh agreed. “It saves me money and on the other hand it’s doing something good for the environment.”
La montagna is offering 10 cents off a cup of coffee for bringing your own cup.
Both businesses also donate food to the neighbourhood centre’s Monday community lunches held monthly at the Baptist Church in Springwood.
With the support of SecondBite and Winmalee Coles, the centre collects food five days a week that would otherwise go to landfill, and distributes to services throughout the Mountains.