Sydney community divided over amount of bubble tea shops popping up
A Sydney community is divided over the explosion of bubble tea outlets popping up around the city, raising concerns for the environment with single use plastic.
Confidential
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You could call it a storm in a teacup.
Drink of the moment bubble tea has enraged some Sydney residents who took to social media to vent their frustration at the proliferation of outlets selling the beverage and concerns over single use plastic.
Listing some of the more prominent establishments in the city’s inner west suburb of Waterloo, the post encouraged those wanting to share their concerns with the City of Sydney council.
“These shops provide their drinks in plastic cups with plastic lids and plastic straws all contained in a plastic bag,” the post on the Waterloo, Zetland and Rosebery Community and Business Facebook page read.
“The litter that we are experiencing around Archibald Ave as a result is awful. The litter is dangerous for children and pets and obviously extremely bad for the environment. What will the council do to help the issues?”
The post to the pages more than 2600 Facebook followers was shared with the hashtag no more bubble tea and was subsequently removed after a vigorous debate ensued from divided residents, most with comments opposing the call.
While some were outraged by the issue, many claimed it was an over reaction and supply and demand would dictate whether or not a shop survives.
Bubble tea is a Taiwanese tea-based drink containing toppings known as ‘pearls’ made out of chewy tapioca balls.
“There was lots of drama around the post,” the group administrator Elina Ko said.
“It is the plastic as well as the number of the stores. There are way too many, there is no diversity with too many bubble tea places. There are three of them in the same building.”
The Daily Telegraph ventured out to Archibald Ave, Waterloo yesterday, visiting one of two bubble tea shops on the street. Also on the same strip are Japanese, Thai and Mexican eateries alongside a health food store and cafe.
A City of Sydney spokeswoman confirmed it had been contacted by “one Waterloo resident who shared the contents of the Facebook post with us”.
“The City has no control over the diversity of retailers in areas where they are permitted to operate and can only make planning decisions based on existing planning rules and regulations,” she said.
“We encourage all residents and businesses to reduce their use of single-use plastic and to dispose of litter with care.”
Veterinary science student Tweety Chan described bubble tea as a “fad”.
“It is really popular drink at the moment and it tastes good,” she said.
“It is a trend so lots of people are trying it but I do think we need to be more careful with the plastic.”
Local resident Vivien Shen is a regular at one of the bubble tea stores and bought a reusable cup from the outlet.
“We try to use reusable whenever we can,” she said, enjoying a bubble tea with four-year-old daughter Summer.
“It means there is less rubbish.”
Originally published as Sydney community divided over amount of bubble tea shops popping up