Takeaway coffee shops and food outlets will be required to accept customers’ reusable cups from next February under new European Union packaging rules which will bring wide-ranging operational changes for the hospitality sector.
The changes form part of the EU packaging waste regulation, which applies directly across all member states without requiring national legislation.
Cyprus must still establish how the rules will be enforced, including inspections, the authorities responsible for compliance and penalties for breaches.
From next February, businesses selling takeaway drinks will have to serve beverages in customers’ own reusable containers where hygiene requirements are met.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, former environment commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou said the regulation “is directly applicable” across the EU, leaving Cyprus to put in place the practical enforcement framework.
The measure extends well beyond allowing customers to bring their own cups, for businesses will now have to introduce clear procedures governing customer supplied containers, train staff and display information explaining how the system will operate.
“The new mandate is going to have huge ramifications for businesses, and will require significant oversight”, Theopemptou said.
Businesses will need procedures for handling containers that are considered unclean or unsuitable, while ensuring food safety standards are maintained throughout preparation.
“Businesses should be prepared and trained in advance,” he said, as staff will require training and customers must understand “what types of containers are accepted” and “what their own responsibility is” when providing reusable cups or food containers.
The changes will also affect takeaway food, where operators will have to determine how customer supplied containers can be accommodated without compromising hygiene requirements.
A second phase comes into force on February 12, 2028, when most food service businesses will also be required to offer reusable packaging through return or deposit schemes.
Cafes and restaurants will have to provide reusable cups or food containers that customers can return after use.
The obligation will not apply to small scale businesses employing fewer than 10 people with annual turnover or a balance sheet below €2 million.
The wider regulation also introduces restrictions on packaging containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals”.
Further changes will follow from January 2030, when single use packaging for food and beverages consumed on site in hotels, restaurants and catering establishments will generally be prohibited, subject to limited exemptions.
Remarking upon the upcoming regulations, Theopemptou explained that “due to the hygiene implications, the staff training as well as the signage, such a directive is going to require a major overhaul of the present system. Businesses will need the government to direct them how to handle every eventuality of the new laws, otherwise it could certainly prove problematic”.
