Small change at cafe sparks outrage - as owners are accused of going back to the 1960s: Disappointing

A cafe has sparked outrage after its owners announced it would only serve coffee in disposable cups. 

Surfing Lizard Cafe, which operates in Coogee and Secret Harbour in Western Australia announced the move in December.

The business said it was more viable to serve its drinks, excluding alcohol, in takeaway paper cups because of staff shortages.

Locals immediately aired their concerns about the 1960s behaviour, citing environmental impacts.

You only have to look at a place like Bali to realise giving customers disposable cups is going to cause issues, one told news.com.au.

Its behaviour from the 1960s when people didnt give a s***.

Another said the local community was unlikely to support the move, given their differences in values.

We live on a beautiful stretch of coastline, and its disappointing that business operating so close to our ocean isnt concerned about the sustainability of serving everyone using disposable cups, one woman said.

The owners of Surfing Lizard Café, Secret Harbour announced they would only use disposable cups in a controversial move

One woman defended the move, arguing the business would only be using disposable mugs for a short time.

But another said she couldnt understand the business reasoning.

The disposable cups add to landfill, and I dont see why you would really need to use them exclusively, she said.

If you can serve coffee in a reusable mug, why wouldnt you.

Images of the nearby area appeared to show council bins overflowing with single-use cups.

Many disposable cups could be seen fallen from bins and on resting the walkways of the Secret Harbour foreshore.

It is not suggested they all originated from the Surfing Lizard Café.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Surfing Lizard for comment.

Last year, Western Australia became the first state in the country to ban plastic-lined takeaway cups in March.

Businesses found not complying with the laws face hefty fines. 

WA environment minister Reece Whitby said cafes can instead use compostable paperboard cups, which are excluded from the ban, or bring keep cups of their own.

This is an excellent move for the environment because we know that plastic persists in the environment for decades and decades and decades, he said.

The change was part of a wider push by the Cook government to reduce the prevalence of single-use plastics in the economy.

The government also banned disposable plastic food trays without lids, such as sushi trays and bento boxes.

Bans on several items, including micro-beads and cotton bud sticks, came into effect in 2023, while sales of plastic produce bags and takeaway containers with lids will be prohibited from September.

Mr Whitby said more than a billion single-use plastic items, including more than 154million coffee cups, will be saved from landfill annually.