On the Run defends ban on reusable coffee cups, saying it was done for hygiene reasons

ON The Run has defended its decision to ban reusable coffee cups from its 100-plus outlets after a fierce backlash, saying there had been many incidents of customers bringing in dirty, unhygienic and contaminated cups.

Carly Humphries, manager of Elementary Coffee, with reusable coffee cups. Picture: Tom Huntley

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SA petrol giant On the Run has banned reusable coffee cups from its 100-plus stations and stores in a move described by one environmental advocate as “ridiculous”.

Citing a food safety risk from contaminants such as bacteria and mould, the company has instructed all outlets to politely explain to customers that they are required to use OTR disposable cups.

The ban comes as many Adelaide cafes go in the opposite direction, offering discounts and other inducements to encourage customers to bring their own cups.

More than one billion disposable coffee cups are estimated to be used in Australia each year, with the bulk ending up in landfill as they are difficult to recycle.

A spokesman for OTR said the decision “has been made in the interests of our customers’ health and wellbeing, particularly those who are vulnerable to food contamination”.

“OTR is subject to stringent food safety laws which also contain health and hygiene obligations for food handlers with the aim to lower the incidence of foodborne illness,” the spokesperson said.

A directive from On The Run advising staff not to allow reusable cups.

But following widespread publicity over the contentious move, the company issued a second statement on Tuesday morning, saying it was not an easy decision as the company was conscious of the effect of disposable coffee cups on the environment.

“OTR have been interested in researching reusable cups for many years. We’ve had entire projects searching for the best reusable coffee flasks, and have sold them in store,” the statement read.

“We care about this problem, so it was not easy to decide that our food-grade (but disposable) coffee cups were the only ones we feel sure about serving our coffee and tea in.

“We have had many incidents of customers bringing in dirty, unhygienic, contaminated cups, more recently we had an incident where a customer brought a cup in that was contaminated with a heavy metal.”

The company said its decision to ban reusable cups was based on the potential health risks, and “it is difficult for us to accommodate washing cups”.

Meanwhile, the state’s peak environment body has urged OTR to reverse the cup ban.

“This is a bizarre decision that punishes OTR’s own customers for trying to do the right thing by the planet,” the chief executive of Conservation SA, Craig Wilkins, said.

“A staggering one million coffee cups end up in landfill every minute, creating a massive mountain of waste that simply doesn’t break down, contaminates recycling, and creates a major pollution hazard that can end up in our oceans.

“Coffee drinkers want to do the right thing, and most baristas are happy to oblige.”

SA Health has confirmed it has no policy or regulation that impacts reusable cups.

Jon Dee, founder of the DoSomething Foundation, said there were no health regulations anywhere in Australia that stopped people using the cups.

“Banning reusable cups is a ridiculous move by OTR,” he said.

“It goes against what all the other major coffee shop chains and service stations are doing throughout Australia and around the world.

“Thousands of other coffee businesses have no issue with reusable cups. This is not the South Australian way. SA has always led the way on the environment … this move is going in totally the wrong direction.”

Mr Dee called on the State Government to “stop this ban”.

Brad Nixon, the owner of city coffee bar Elementary, offers a 20 cent discount for people bringing in their own cup.

“It costs us money to do it,” he said. “But it’s an environmental decision. I think everybody needs to get behind anything that eases the pressure on the environment.”

The Bean Bar group, with eight outlets, offers a discount from 30c to 50c a cup.

“About 20 to 30 per cent of our customers bring their own cups,” said Bean Bar director Nitin Jakhwal.

“We often have customers bring in dirty cups and we clean it for them.”

However, executive director of Kesab, John Phillips OAM, said he could understand OTR’s decision.

“People are trying to do the right thing by bringing their cups in but there is a percentage of them where it is still dirty,” he said.

“We would hope they are sincerely looking at options for a recyclable coffee cup.”

Conservation SA has started a petition calling on OTR to drop the ban. To sign the petition click here