
Where will you visit next?
Discover lots of gardens, historic houses, days out at the coast and more.
Every year 7 million single-use cups are thrown away at places in our care, creating waste that's harmful for nature, wildlife and the climate. As a conservation charity, we're continually looking at ways to reduce our impact on the environment. We're asking for your support to help us phase out single-use cups by the end of 2026.
In the UK, 2.5 billion single-use coffee cups are discarded every year – that's 7 million every day, or 5,000 per minute. This is causing great harm to our environment.
A single paper cup emits 110g of CO2 during its lifecyle – a carbon footprint that includes raw materal extraction, production and transportation. In 2023-24, our carbon footprint for single-use cups was 763 tonnes of CO2, which is the equivalent to driving three million miles.
The average price for a single-use cup and lid is 14p. From 2022 to 2024, on average seven million cups were thrown away every year. This means that we spend more than £1m on single-use cups every year – money that could otherwise go back into protecting and caring for the places you enjoy.
Together we can create change that protects our environment for future generations to come. With your support, we can phase out single-use cups at the places we care for by the end of 2026.
To support this change, all you need to do is bring your own reusable cup for takeaway drinks. This will get you a 25p discount on your hot drink.
If you don’t have a reusable cup, you can:
If you borrow a returnable cup, all we ask is that you return it at the end of the day by placing it into one of our dedicated collection points.
Please note, some of the places in our care may not offer returnable cups, so we recommend bringing your own. Thank you.
Discover lots of gardens, historic houses, days out at the coast and more.
Support our sustainability goals by purchasing a recycled, reusable cup from cafés, shops or online. We have a range of Circular & Co cups available to buy, and you'll receive your first hot drink for free when visiting a place in our care.
Together, we're securing our future with action on climate and the environment. Learn more about how we're responding to the changing climate at places in our care.
The small actions we take can help make big changes. There are lots of ways to make a difference, find out how you can play your part with ideas from planting trees to going peat-free.
Climate change is the single biggest threat to the places we care for. Take a look at our environmental pledges as we adapt, reduce carbon emissions and address the damage already done.