Party for the Animals wants to reduce the use of dispo­sable cups


18 April 2018

The number of used coffee cups at railway stations should be reduced. Last week, a majority of the Dutch Lower House supported a motion tabled by the Party for the Animals requesting the Dutch Cabinet to make ambitious commitments with major coffee chains to reduce the use of disposable cups.

Each year around 3 billion, difficult-to-recycle coffee cups are thrown away in the Netherlands alone. Worldwide, this number is around 500 billion. There are various experiments going on with the aim of stimulating reusable coffee cups, but none of these are very well-known among customers. For example, the Cabinet has joined forces with railway companies in the Netherlands to launch a trial that allows customers to bring their own coffee mugs and pay less for their coffee. This trial is part of the ‘GreenDeal’ aimed at a substantial reduction of waste at railway stations, a campaign launched on the initiative of the Party for the Animals in 2015.

Party for the Animals MP Frank Wassenberg: “Every day thousands of pounds of trash are produced at railway stations. That number has to be reduced and it is possible with simple changes in behaviour, such as bringing our own mugs. Let’s dispose of disposable cups!”

Thanks to the Party for the Animals’ motion which was adopted last week, the State Secretary for Infrastructure & Water Management will make ambitious commitments with railway companies and major coffee chains to further and faster reduce the number of used coffee cups.