Just a few years ago, over one million single-use disposable cups were thrown away each year on campus for hot drinks. Although the numbers have significantly dropped since, there’s still room for improvement when it comes to reducing our waste.
That’s why the University has introduced a new pricing structure for hot drinks purchased in the retail outlets and cafes across campus from today (17 February).
Not only will this help to encourage staff, students and visitors to be more sustainable and meet their environmental responsibilities, but it will also mean customers can save money or fund future sustainable initiatives at the University.
The changes to the pricing structures are as follows:
- Drink inside cafe or outlet using crockery: Standard list price
- Bring your own reusable cup: Receive a 10% discount on listed prices
- Single-use disposable cup: +25p charge added to listed price
Any funds generated from the new charge on single-use disposable cups will be deployed into developing environmental initiatives. One example of this is the development of water fountain infrastructures being installed at multiple locations that will also have the facility to rinse cups, making it easier than ever to use a reusable alternative.
The University’s Environmental Manager Nik Hunt commented: “The need to reduce our environmental impact is global news on a daily basis. There is therefore an increasing need to do more to reduce our environmental impact across all our activities.
“The aim of this single use supplement is to encourage a culture change around the waste we generate and the resources we use. The benefit of using any surplus for further educational and operational environmental initiatives means we can seek further opportunities to support the culture and behaviour changes needed to reduce our environmental impacts.”
If you don’t already own a reusable cup, the retail outlets on campus sell three types of cups: the Loughborough Cup, the rCup (created by alumnus Dan Dicker) and KeepCup.
Today is also the start of Sustainability Week, a new campaign by the University which is being celebrated with initiatives such as campus walks, waste audits and herb planting. More information can be found here.
Be sure to keep an eye out for stories on how to make your home more sustainable as well as guidance on making the most out of food planners, all of which have been developed in collaboration with staff from various Departments at the University.
For more information, contact the Sustainability team by emailing waste@lboro.ac.uk.