It's Time To Ditch This Trendy Toxic Habit

Do you love coffee? I do - I call it Colombian herbal tea and it has many health benefits, including having antioxidant qualities and being good for your liver.

In Australia we have certainly embraced the coffee culture, but a scary trend is emerging - And I am not talking about the half-strength caramel latte made withe extra milk and a dash of sugar (want some diabetes with your warm soft drink?), I am talking about the increasing habit of people getting their coffees in a  a takeaway cup , even when they are sitting in the cafe. And the cafes love it - less washing up right? And its supposed to keep the coffee warmer etc etc.. But did you know that EVERY SINGLE ONE of those cups (yes even the fancy schmansy ones with the "brown paper" on the outside) are lined with plastic and unable to be recycled? And you are having a hot beverage straight on plastic ...

Plastic is no good for us, but also a disaster for our planet

But of Course That Isn't Even The Real Problem

The real problem is that we use an amazing 135,000,000 (that's 135 million) of these things in Australia alone EVERY YEAR.. and many of them end up in our oceans.

 Let's put that into perspective: Lined end to end, that would go half way around the world, or 5 times form Sydney to Perth ...And that's only in Australia.

So what can you do:

Here are my 5 best tips:

1. No Brainer - bring your own keep cup - I have 2, and I keep one in my car at all times, just so I have one when I have a coffee whim. Make sure you buy a ceramic, glass or stainless one - you don't want to swap  1 type of plastic with another.
2. Have a conversation with your local cafe - you may be labelled a bit of a crazy hippie. But enough of us do it, it will gradually get the message across - I do it all the time ( you should have seen the look on the Hipster's face at a trendy West End cafe when I had the conversation with him!) 
3. Talk to them - or you local council about Responsible Cafes..
4. Talk to all your friends about using a keep cup - every time you see them with a disposable cup in hand - ripples in the pond eventually get noticed. 
5. Share this post!

It's a complete travesity what we have done to the oceans , and you have the power to help.

So let's do it - be  a responsible coffee drinker from today onward - so you can help turn this disaster around