Fourth Glasgow Coffee Festival Eliminating Disposable Cups

The 2018 Glasgow Coffee Festival is taking place May 19-20 inside The Briggait. Photo courtesy of Glasgow Coffee Festival.

The fourth Glasgow Coffee Festival is happening next month, showcasing roasters and other specialty purveyors throughout Scotland. And while this year’s ticket price includes a free drink, it does not include a cup from which to drink it.

In partnership with sponsor KeepCup, the Australian-born maker of reusable cups for individual consumer or wholesale clients, the Glasgow Coffee Festival is prohibiting the use of disposable cups, which are typically lined with polyethylene to trap hot liquids, a fact that continues to obfuscate their recyclability in municipalities throughout the UK and beyond.

“The event organizers ask ticket holders to bring their own reusable cup to combat the 30,000 tonnes of coffee cup waste which are disposed each year in the UK,” Glasgow-based festival organizer Dear Green Coffee Roasters wrote in an announcement of the initiative. “KeepCup will be on hand at the festival to loan reusable cups to anyone who needs to borrow one for the day.”

Said DGCR Founder Lisa Lawson, “Everything we do is from an ethical stance, and we felt like it was time for Glasgow Coffee Festival to partner with KeepCup to lead the way with reusable cups.”

Taking place May 19-20 inside The Briggait event space in Glasgow’s Merchant City, the festival will feature coffees and other coffee-related offerings from some 40 exhibitors, while also playing host to the 2018 UK Brewers Cup competition. All event proceeds go to support the nonprofits World Coffee Research and Glasgow City Mission.