Consultation on draft regulations to introduce an environmental levy on single-use disposable cups

The national Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy sets out our commitment to introduce new environmental levies to encourage more responsible behaviour and phase out single-use products in the same way as we have done so successfully before through the Plastic Bag Levy. With the enactment of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 in July, the first of these environmental levies can be implemented.

The Minister of State for the Circular Economy is introducing an environmental levy on single-use cups for hot drinks to incentivise people to choose to re-use and to help reduce single-use waste. The levy will also encourage more people to think about other steps they can take in their daily lives to reduce waste and contribute to climate action.

The levy on single-use disposable cups is being introduced to incentivise people to choose to re-use and will work in a similar way to the plastic bag levy. The target date for the making of the levy regulations is December 2022. At least three months will be provided to allow appropriate preparation and transitional arrangements to be made before the levy is applied.

Under the new regulations:

• Customers who purchase their hot drink in a single-use disposable cup will be charged the levy at the point of sale. Customers who choose to purchase their hot drink in a reusable cup will not be charged the levy. Many have already made this switch and many cafes and shops have been incentivising the use of reusable cups by providing a discount when you bring your own cup
• The proposed levy will be charged at a flat rate of 20 cent, applicable to all single-use disposable cups containing a hot drink, including those described as compostable, biodegradable or recyclable. Compostable, biodegradable or recyclable cups are single-use, and the overall aim is to move away from single use towards reuse. These cups do not minimise the use of resources and if not disposed of correctly, add to waste for disposal
• The levy will be shown as a separate charge on the invoice/receipt
• The proceeds from the levy will be ringfenced in a Circular Economy Fund for projects relating to environmental and climate action objectives and will be administered by the Department. The specific types of projects which can be funded through this Fund are set out in Section 8 of the Circular Economy Act
• All businesses / traders who sell hot drinks in single-use disposable cups will be required to register for the levy with the Collection Authority, when appointed. Guidance, like that provided for the plastic bag levy, will be made available to retailers in due course

This consultation has three strands – public consultation, retailer consultation and other stakeholder engagement - and will be open for a period of six weeks, closing at 5.30pm on 25 November 2022.

This strand of the consultation is targeted at members of the public and consumers of takeaway beverages.

You can submit your views on the levy through a short survey which can be completed anonymously online. It is not necessary to answer all questions, additional comments are also welcome.

Survey for Consumers

This strand of the consultation is targeted at businesses or traders who will be directly impacted by the regulations. This includes retailers or other traders who sell hot drinks in disposable cups.

You can submit your views on the levy through a short survey which can be completed anonymously online. It is not necessary to answer all questions, additional comments are also welcome.

Survey for Retailers

This strand of the consultation is targeted at all other stakeholders. This includes any individual or entity not covered under the other strands, businesses operating in the cup manufacturing, distribution or related industries, public sector bodies, NGOs, business and citizen representative bodies and all other interested parties.

If you are having trouble accessing either of the surveys, you can contact us, or send a submission to us at SingleUse@decc.gov.ie or by post:

Circular Economy - Materials Management Division

Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications

Government Buildings

Newtown Road

Wexford

Y35 AP90

The closing date for submissions is 5.30pm 25 November 2022

We are committed to engaging with stakeholders in a clear, open and transparent manner. Any person or organisation can make a submission in relation to this consultation. All submissions and feedback will be considered before the final version of the Regulations are published.

Please note that responses to this consultation are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (FOI), Access to Information on the Environment Regulations 2007-2018 (AIE) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Please also note that we intend to publish the contents of all submissions received to our consultations on our website. We will redact personal data prior to publication. In responding to this consultation, parties should clearly indicate where their responses contain personal information, commercially sensitive information or confidential information which they would not wish to be released under FOI, AIE or otherwise published.

We would like to draw your attention to our Data Protection which explains how and when we collect personal data, why we do so and how we treat this information. It also explains your rights in relation to the collection of personal information and how you can exercise those rights.

Industry Submissions

Group/Organisation Submissions

Individual Submissions