By Sean Ford
During the summer the Students’ Union was recognized for their sustainability and green initiatives. They have attained a “Good” Green Impact award. The Students’ Union joined the award-winning programme in 2021 and they have made progress towards becoming a more sustainable organisation and creating long-lasting social change on campus.
In partnership with Huddersfood, the University of Huddersfield catering department, they have introduced a 15p Coffee Cup charge. To meet their goals on waste and carbon emissions reduction, both the University and the Students’ Union have committed to reducing the number of single-use items being used every day on campus.
In the House of Commons Environment Audit Committee 2017 report, it is mentioned that 2.5 billion coffee cups are being thrown away each year in the UK and how it is “enough to stretch around the planet roughly five and a half times”. According to The Guardian, Britian throws away 2.5 billion coffee cups a year and this number is set to increase. Did you know that only 1 in 400 (0.25%) of the estimated 2.5 billion plastic coated coffee cups used in the UK each year are recycled. Approximately 500,000 (4%) are littered every day and the rest (95.75%) go straight to landfill. The university used over 158,633 disposable cups in the year before the 15p charge was put into place.
Reusable cups are now available to purchase in the Students’ Union shop and at all Huddersfood catering outlets. If you want to wash the cups on campus you can in the Students’ Union shop, Common Rooms, and kitchenette areas across the campus. Reusable cups can also be used in vending machines, they sense when you put your own cup there instead of giving you a disposable one. If you are wondering where the money raised from the 15p cup charge goes to, it will be allocated to fund further sustainability initiatives.
More of the Students’ Unions plans for 2022-23 are, Pilot a Community Fridge scheme, Collaborate with local charity shops to tackle fast-fashion and support local organisations, Supporting students to deliver the Divest to Decolonise toolkit, Introducing more eco-friendly and reusable products in the shop including soap, sanitary products, and food.
For more information about how to get involved in sustainability initiatives at the Students’ Union, or if you have suggestions for how they can reduce our environmental impact contact students.union@hud.ac.uk.
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