NSW Government Drops Plan to Require Mugs and Glasses for Dine-In Coffee After Backlash

The New South Wales government has abandoned a plan that would have forced cafes to offer dine-in customers mugs and glasses instead of takeaway cups. The reversal comes only a week after the legislation passed parliament.

Premier Chris Minns' government will also scrap a provision that would have required businesses to join a reusable cup scheme or face a fine of up to $110,000. The decision followed criticism from small businesses and from News Corp Australia.

The measures were part of a broader effort to cut plastic waste, given projections that Sydney's landfill will run out by 2030. The mug and glass requirement would have applied to cafes from 2028.

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe announced the repeal on Wednesday morning in an interview with 2GB radio. "We know small businesses are under pressure and we want them to be able to operate in the way that they need to operate, to run their business," she said. She added that "it was always the plan that there would be extensive exemptions."

Some reforms will stay. Businesses will still have to accept customers' own reusable cups as long as they are clean, and single-use takeaway cups will still have to be recyclable by 2028.

The Daily Telegraph ran a front page last week with the headline "'Nup' to the Cup", alongside stories in which small business owners criticised the cost of joining the reusable cup scheme. When the legislation passed, the government had said such schemes would not be mandatory for small businesses, with trials planned at government-owned venues including stadiums and office buildings.

On Tuesday, Minns defended the policy on 2GB, saying the government was "not getting rid of disposable cups anywhere in any place". "I use disposable cups, most people use disposable cups," he said, adding that he did not know whether the government had explained the policy well enough. By Wednesday, Sharpe said she had spoken with the premier and they had asked whether the mandate was needed. "No, we don't," she said. She has asked the NSW Environment Protection Authority to issue a statement of regulatory intent making clear that certain changes will not proceed.

The laws themselves will not be formally repealed until after the March 2027 election, with only two sitting weeks left before parliament is dissolved. The opposition had said on Tuesday that, if elected next year, it would repeal them, claiming they add another layer of regulation that is suffocating businesses.

The NSW Greens environment spokesperson, Sue Higginson, called it a "coffee cup captain's call" and said it was "a sad day" when the Daily Telegraph appeared to hold more sway than the environment minister and parliament. Jeff Angel, director of the Boomerang Alliance, noted that the backdown followed the federal government shelving a commitment to packaging standards, and said Labor appeared to have "an aversion to actually making real change".

The government faces pressure from the Coalition and One Nation, both running pro-small business platforms and promising significant payroll tax cuts. Last week, Minns also backed away from timetable changes on several local and regional rail lines after commuter backlash. A Guardian Essential poll last week had Labor and One Nation level on 28% of the national primary vote, with the Coalition on 23%.