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One year on without disposable cups
Since September 2023, disposable cups have become a thing of the past at WUR's hot drink vending machines. Why again was this necessary, how did students and staff experience the switch to sustainable alternatives and what does this mean for the waste streams?
From 1 January 2024, new Single Use Plastics (SUP) rules will apply in the European Union. These prohibit the single use of cups with plastic. Because the cardboard cups at WUR's coffee machines contain a plastic coating, this meant the end of disposable cups in the workplace. The switch to sustainable coffee cups fitted well within WUR's ambition to achieve circular business operations. WUR decided to phase out single-use cups even before the legal deadline. From the start of the 2023 academic year, most vending machines on campus needed an alternative to cardboard cups.
From disposable to reusable
A tour of the campus shows that the BillieCup is a popular alternative for both staff and students. This is a reusable cup that you can buy together with a drink from the caterers on campus and in some catering establishments in the city. After use, you hand in the cup to one of the caterers, where it is cleaned and reused. This system makes it easy to choose sustainably without having to bring your own cup.
What’s the best way to use your cup?
Milieu Centraal indicates that the most environmentally friendly way is to use your cup throughout the day without washing it in between. Have a look at the MilieuCentraal website for more information.
For daily use, many employees and students choose to bring their own cups from home. In the pantries of the various departments, there is crockery available for guests, such as porcelain mugs and glasses.
What do students and staff say?
Melanie Kieboom, master's student of Nutrition and Health and board member of the WKvV (Wageningen Chamber of Associations) says that it took some getting used to in the beginning. "I often had to go without a cup, but now we have a few BillieCups in our student house, and I take one with me every morning. It’s become a habit". Melanie says that the abolition of disposable cups has stimulated her to make more sustainable choices in other areas, for example, she now uses her own sustainable travel cutlery set". Also, the drinks committee of my study association Di-Et-Tri has switched to reusable tableware with financial support from the university".
Tineke Bremer, Community Manager of Wageningen Campus from 1 December, recognises Melanie's experience. "The funny thing is that beforehand everyone thought 'How will it work?’ and ‘That's not possible', but I got used to taking my BillieCup with me surprisingly quickly. I rinse it in between, and then it goes into the dishwasher at home in the evening. Personally, I wouldn't want to go back to the old situation. "This positive experience provides confidence in future changes that will undoubtedly follow in the transition to sustainable business operations," concludes Tineke.
Arjen Wals, personal professor of Transformative Learning for Socio-ecological Sustainability/Unesco Chair, welcomes even more sustainable changes. "We have to get rid of our addictive consumer culture, in which we buy and throw away things without thinking," he says. For him, the road to a more sustainable world lies in feeling more connected to the things we have around us. "Bringing a personal, sustainable cup is a great example of how we can restore that connection and break the disposable habit."
Impact on waste stream: 26,000 kg less waste
WUR has an extensive Material Flow Management (MFM) programme, which keeps track of how many goods and waste streams come in and out of WUR. Anne van Casteren is the policy officer for the MFM programme.She has asked for an analysis of what the abolition of plastic cups meant for the MFM goals.
The total amount of materials and waste was calculated in a year when disposable cups were still being used. The 2023 hot beverage vending machine data show that there were a total of 4,264,170 cups of coffee consumed. The amount of waste produced by these disposable cups is estimated at 26,357 kg.
Since one BillieCup can be reused at least 500 times, fewer cups are needed in the new situation. For the comparison, it is assumed that only BillieCups (and no other type of cups) are used. The amount of waste this generates in a year (by for example replacement and loss) has been calculated at only 324 kg. In short, replacing disposable cups will reduce waste by around 26,000 kg!
Determining the environmental impact of replacing disposable cups is a bit more difficult than the analysis at the material level. Here, the use in practice plays a major role. In what way (in a full dishwasher, rinsing separately, with or without detergent) and how often is the sustainable cup washed? How WUR staff and students do this in practice has not been investigated within the MFM programme.