Michael Gove shows off his re-usable coffee cup outside No10 after being accused of hypocrisy for using disposable one as he launched recycling campaign
Environment Secretary wants to tackle Britain’s plastic waste problem but it was revealed his department has purchased more than 2.5m disposable cups in past five years
MICHAEL Gove proudly showed off his new re-usable coffee cup outside Number 10 after being accused of hypocrisy for drinking from a disposable one.
The Environment Secretary has launched a recycling campaign to tackle Britain’s plastic waste problem after being moved by the BBC show Blue Plant.
So today he walked up Downing Street today holding out his green cup for the waiting photographers to see as he attended Theresa May’s new-look Cabinet.
It was a far cry from last month, when he was twice pictured with a single use takeaway coffee as he walked into Cabinet meetings – one of the 2.5 billion the UK gets through every year.
Despite being made of cardboard almost all of them end up in landfill, or are incinerated because their waterproof plastic lining makes them very costly to recycle.
At the time Sue Hayman, Labour’s shadow environment secretary, said: "It’s clear that what Michael Gove says and what Michael Gove does on the environment are two different things."
That also came after it was revealed the minister’s department had purchased more than 2.5 million disposable cups in the past five years.
A freedom of information request showed they used almost 1,400 single use cups every day in its restaurants and cafes.
The Liberal Democrats’ environment spokesman, Tim Farron, said it showed Mr Gove “needs to get his own house in order”.
The party also uncovered that the House of Commons is also failing to crack down on non-recyclable waste, with almost four million used in the past five years.
Last week MPs demanded a 25p “latte levy” should be slapped on all disposable coffee cups, or see them get banned from British cafes.
The powerful Commons Environmental Audit Committee called for the charge in a bid to get all throwaway cups recycled by 2023.
Outlets like Pret A Manger are already offering 50p discounts to customers who bring their own cups, but the committee said uptake of these offers was low, and its chair Mary Creagh said a “revolution in recycling” was needed.