Is it time to take your KeepCup back to the cafe?

As the pandemic swept Brisbane notices went up banning reusable mugs from cafes, but an anti-plastics campaigner insists they can be safer than takeaway cups — if you follow some rules.

A CAMPAIGNER who helps cafes and restaurants eliminate single-use plastics says cafes that suspended use of reusable coffee mugs during the pandemic should let them come back.

Boomerang Alliance Queensland campaign manager Toby Hutcheon said cafes began to refuse reusable coffee mugs, like KeepCups, as coronavirus fears hit the suburbs.

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“What was happening initially was people who had a return cup or a KeepCup were being refused service because the cafe thought it was unsafe,” he said.

Mr Hutcheon said after talking with the 400 cafes on their plastic-free places list, they were able to come up with a process to use a reusable cup safely.

He said the customer puts their cup on the counter, the barista makes the coffee in the cafes own (reusable) cup then pours it into the customer’s cup.

“In actual fact, no-one else has touched your cup except you.

“I think a number of cafes are under the misconception that it’s safer and they have reverted back (to disposable cups).”

“Yes, be COVID-safe but we don’t have to go back to using single-use plastics.”

There are a vast array of reusable coffee cups – should you be allowed to use them during the pandemic. File picture: Jay Town

The Queensland Government has not instructed cafes to use disposable coffee cups but the Restaurant & Catering Australia COVID-19 Best Practice Guidelines recommends it.

“Business should refuse to accept keep-cups, BYO alcohol bottles or containers for safety reasons,” the peak body’s guidelines state.

It is up to cafes to decide whether they allow reusable coffee cups or not.

Now, as restaurants and cafe reopen for dine-in, Mr Hutcheon said some of their members were getting mixed messages about disposable cutlery and crockery.

The Queensland Government’s COVID safe checklist for restaurants and cafes states: “Non-disposable crockery/cutlery/glassware is permitted only when cleared after each course and washed using a commercial grade dishwasher”.

“Use disposable/recyclable cutlery/glassware when available, or strict table cleaning guidelines requiring gloves,” it stated.

The Restaurant & Catering Australia COVID-19 Best Practice Guidelines say cafes and restaurants should refuse KeepCups and use takeaway cups instead. Picture: Richard Walker

Mr Hutcheon said the sector was “getting all this mixed messaging about reverting to single-use plastic but that’s not the rule”.

“They’re saying if you’re a restaurant or a cafe and you have your own crockery and cutlery, you can use them if you clean them in a commercial dishwasher,” he said.

“They’re saying don’t put them on the table before people are seated, give it to them directly.

“Why would you think that eating with a plastic knife and fork is safer than eating a metal knife and fork washed in a commercial dishwasher.

“It’s not the packaging or the product that’s the problem, it’s the way it’s been handled.”