Disposable coffee cups to become more expensive at UU

According to the new law, people will have to pay more for single-use cups and containers that contain plastic, such as those used by  take out restaurants or supermarkets for their salads to go. The rule also applies to restaurants and foodtrucks in the Utrecht Sciencde Park. In 2022 alone, almost 1.2 million disposable cups were used at the university, and most of them ended up in the trash. UU hopes that the higher price will help it reduce the use of single-use cups as much as possible.

UU employees can still use the coffee machines for free, so they will still keep getting disposable coffee cups for free until the end of the year. The university acquires these cups from Maas, the company managing the machines.

The luxury coffee will keep using disposable cups because they can't register the type of cup used. This means that all users will have to pay 25 cents extra.

As of January 1, single-use plastic cups will disappear completely from the coffee machines. This means that students will only be able to order a cup of coffee or tea if they bring their own cup from home. Employees can use the mugs available in the pantries. 

But this is not the only way UU is looking to reduce the use of single-use plastics. All restaurants in UU's buildings will have reusable tableware The foodtrucks will also have to charge more for disposable plastic cups and packaging, although they are free to determine their price. Customers are also welcome to bring their own tableware to UU's restaurants and foodtrucks.