UvA is doing it differently: Free disposable cups won't disappear until September 1
The government’s ban on free disposable cups at takeaway locations is causing the UvA headaches. What now? Students will mostly have to bring their own cups.
From the start of the next academic year (around September 1), free disposable cardboard cups, which contain a layer of plastic, will disappear from all coffee machines at UvA locations. So as of July 1 - the day the government bans free disposable plastic cups at all takeaway locations in the Netherlands - things will not change.
This is because the university does not consider coffee vending machines on campuses to be takeaway locations. Instead, the UvA sees the entire campus - coffee vending machines included - as a location where only “on-site consumption” takes place. This is allowed within the new regulations. The UvA's rationale is that many disposable cups remain within the university walls, or “on-site” for short.
For locations where on-site consumption takes place, a ban on all disposable plastic packaging, including coffee cups, takes effect on January 1. By already removing disposable cups from the coffee machines around September 1 (at the beginning of the academic year), the UvA is in fact ahead of these regulations.
Bring your own
What will take their place? A so-called “Bring your own” policy at coffee machines, meaning students will have to bring their own mug or sippy cup. This will reportedly be supported by some alternatives. Exactly what those will look like is not yet known, but it is expected that students will also be able to buy reusable cups on campus at a reasonable price.
The results of a UvA pilot which provided reusable cups free of charge in the P.C. Hoofthuis showed that offering cups for free is not a good idea. The cups could be returned after use, after which they would be washed by catering. But in practice, some 80 percent of them disappeared.
Pricing
Other universities, such as the VU and the University of Twente, choose not to distinguish between takeaway locations and locations for “on-site consumption.” They are already removing all disposable cups at campus coffee machines starting July 1.
In contrast, University of Utrecht is keeping disposable cups for now but will charge (higher) prices. Starting July 1, a rate of 25 cents per disposable cup at the coffee machine will apply. They will remove the cups altogether on January 1.
The UvA does not want to charge for the cups until the next academic year, so the costs will not be passed on to the users.
The University of Utrecht, on the other hand, will keep the disposable cups for now, but will price them (higher). Starting July 1, a rate of 25 cents per disposable cup at the coffee machine will apply, and the cups will be removed altogether on January 1.
The UvA does not want to charge for the cups until next academic year, so the cost will not be passed on to their users, or students. Besides, quickly creating a pricing system would be quite a complex operation, according to the university.
