THE owner of a Witton Street cafe has found an innovative way to say no to plastic after some painstaking research into disposable cups.

Viva Coffee and Juice Bar is now serving takeaway drinks in biodegradable cups to help customers cut down on their plastic waste.

While regular paper cups are lined with polyethylene – a plastic which makes them waterproof, but stops them from being recyclable – Viva’s new cups have a vegetable-based lining.

Chad Tinsley, owner of Viva, told the Guardian: "I nearly got stung on a few occasions when buying coffee cups because you are told they are recyclable, but you then discover they have the plastic lining.

"I found these cups after doing more research. Customers can put them in the bin, or they can take them to their own compost heap, and they will decompose in about six weeks.

"If I want something food for the environment then I want it to be 100 per cent recyclable."

Although the cups are slightly more expensive for Chad than regular cups, he has been able to off-set this by buying them in bigger bulk than previous cups.

Viva is also beginning to use disposable food cartons made using the same technology.

"It is a challenging task to go 100 per cent plastic free," Chad added.

"Will we ever get to 100 per cent? I don't know – but we are certainly giving it a good go."