The Conscious Cup Campaign have received an award for their 'Anti Black Friday Gorilla Campaign' which took to the streets last November as part of European Week for Waste Reduction.

Over 13,410 other groups all across Europe took part in the campaign and 15 made it into the finals.

The anti-black Friday gorilla event took place on Wolfe Tone Square in Dublin’s city centre on the busiest shopping day of the year in an effort to educate the public about the increasing number of disposable cups being disposed of in Ireland annually.  

The manufacture, distribution and disposal of single use items such as a coffee cup have a significant negative impact on our environment. Shoppers on Jervis and Henry street who successfully completed an informative questionnaire and signed a “Pledge to Carry Your Cup” were awarded their very own Conscious Cup branded reusable cup.  

Sorcha Kavanagh Coordinator of the Conscious Cup Campaign said;
“People are becoming more aware about the amount of waste generated by single use items, they want to embrace reduce and reuse habits and become a more conscious consumer.”

Declan Breen Waste Prevention Officer said;
“It’s great to see that the public are so engaged and excited about being the ones who will be driving change, they are shocked when they hear how many cups we dispose of in Ireland alone and then that they end up in landfill! They really want to change this and the CCC is providing them with a simple and very effective tool to do so”

 The Conscious Cup Campaign, currently run by VOICE Ireland, was originally set up by a group of volunteers in 2016. The campaign is asking Cafes to offer a discount or incentive to those carrying a reusable cup.  There are over 900 Cafes in Ireland now giving a discount.  The Campaign works with Tidy Towns, Schools, Colleges and Companies to help reduce their waste and work towards a healthy environment for our future.

Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment and the three waste regions have recently joined the campaign. The reusable cups which were given out on the day of action were funded by Dublin City Council and the event was also supported by Dublin’s Q102 Blue Crew.

Thanks to TV3 Ireland AM for the shout out yesterday!