Tourist hotspot Killarney has come a long way from its ‘dirty’ old days.
In another game changing move for the ‘jewel in the Kerry’s crown’ businesses have turned their backs on disposable coffee cups blighting the streets and national park.
All it took was a bit of team work from 46 bars, cafes and hotels who have united to deliver a bring your own cup system in an Irish first.
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But if customers forget, they can buy a reusable 2GoCup for €2 deposit that’s refundable when the cup is returned to participating Killarney locations and 350 others nationwide.
The town estimates it will save one million disposable cups or 18.5 tonnes of waste a year and set them on a path to sustainability they hope others will follow.
We visited Killarney yesterday for the launch of the The Killarney Coffee Cup Project, which will go fully operational on July 31.
Town Mayor, Brendan Cronin, told us: “This is a hugely historic event as it’s the first of its kind.
“The objective is to remove the coffee cups here from the town.
“Killarney is a major tourist destination - as Kerry people we would say it is the jewel in the eye of the crown.
“Around the roads has been littered with coffee cups.
“Millions of people come here and if this can be achieved in a place like this... it’s there for any other city or town to take example.”
Minister with repsonsibility for the circular economy, Ossian Smyth, praised the community for the ‘transformative’ move.
“I am very proud of all of you for doing it,” he told those gathered for the launch via videolink.
“Killarney’s economy is tied to its beautiful natural environment and this scheme will reduce litter, save money on disposable cups for the businesses and save the public from paying the cup levy.”
Tidy Towns treasurer, Kathleen Foley, says it will be a major boost to townsfolk who’ve been litter picking for years to help Killarney shed it’s formerly ‘dirty’ image.
She told us: “Killarney, in some newspaper articles, was described as best seen through the rear view mirror of a car - in other words - a dirty town.
“Business people, some volunteers, got together and formed [Killarney Tidy Towns].
“It took us a long time to get to where we are now.
“It’s not just about planting, it’s keeping the place clean and caring for the environment.
“We know from our volunteers who are out every evening all year round the big issue now is coffee cups.
“Before that it was mostly plastics and during the pandemic... masks being thrown around.
“Our volunteers come from all walks of life, Ukranian refugees and people from direct provision who are helping keep Killarney clean.
“This initiative will really help big time,” she added.
“If we can take a lot of this disposable waste off our streets and the park... it’s another step forward in maintaining the beauty and cleanliness [of the area] and less waste.”
LUNA deli + wine co-founder, Killian Treacy, says businesses have been working on the project since May.
“The whole project stemmed from park litter and single use coffee cups was a large part of that.. so we put our heads together,” he explained.
“It’s 46 businesses coming together to say we will no longer use single use coffee cups... that would end up in landfill or litter.
“The latte levy (20c cost of a throwaway cup) supports it because that’s coming down the tracks in the next couple of months.
“This project keeps the cost of takeaway coffee unchanged for customers,” he added.
“It’s not always easy to be the first, but we are delighted with it.”
Kevin Murphy, Founder and CEO of 2GoCup, will be providing the reusable cups used in the scheme.
The 27-year-old said: “We were approached three months ago to get this project ready so it was all hands on deck quite quickly.
“The best bit of that was the business engagement.
“We are delighted to working with such a large group of people and we hope to do them proud.”
Speaking to us in the lobby of the Plaza, Brian Lawlor, group general manager of O’Donoghue Ring Collection, said: “When we heard about the project we really wanted to be part of it.
“We would do, give or take, 700 takeaway coffees per day.
“We wanted to make sure that we were not going to jeopardise any business.
“The biggest concern for us was that not everybody in Killarney was going to sign up to it - once everybody bought in, it does create that circular economy.
“It gives us faith that it is going to work. We are all in business but all the coffee shops and hotels... but for the greater good we all came together for the project.”
Sheahan Group director, Niamh Sheahan, said: “We are very proud of our town and we very lucky we live in such a picturesque, beautiful town.”
The family business has a number of retail outlets in the town including J.M. Reidys on Main Street, which are taking part.
“Sustainability is so important for business going forward,” Niamh added.
“There’s all the benefits of saving on the packaging costs, which is an advantage, but I think what’s really leading the drive for this is sustainability and trying to make a change.
“Our customers and our staff will encourage it and take part in it and hopefully it will be a great success.
“It’s definitely a first step and I think more initiatives will follow from it.”
