What's Happening in Balcatta, WA…

Coffee merchants in Osborne Park, Western Australia, are being urged to participate in the newly introduced Responsible Café Programme.

The programme, created as a means of establishing a more sustainable way of serving coffee, is an initiative of Responsible Runners – a not-for-profit organisation within the City of Stirling.

The aim was to connect conscious consumers with responsible cafés that offered small incentives or discounts to those who supplied their own reusable coffee cup.

Currently, there are one billion lids and cups discarded each year, according to Mayor Cr Giovanni Italiano.

He said these figures were unsustainable and urged cafes to take the initiative and sign up to participate in the Responsible Café Programme for a cleaner world.

The City of Stirling hosts more than 100 cafés, and the mayor said the council aimed to have at least 30 signed up within the next 12 months.

It is expected that cafés taking part could also benefit from marketing the initiative through the services of brochure printers.

Finding more sustainable avenues for purchasing and serving hot beverages has received the thumbs up by many outlets throughout the city, including Jennifer Methven of Dome Osborne Park, who described it as an important step for the future.

Mayor Italiano said coffee was an important part of the day for many people, and supplying their own reusable cup was not a big ask in comparison to the long-term benefits.