From July onwards, no free disposable cups will be allowed to be distributed in the Netherlands. Radboud University has already found its alternative, recyclable holy grail: the Billie Cup. By 2022, this already ensured a significant reduction in the use of disposable cups.

You know the drill: you walk onto campus in the morning, diligently looking for the dose of caffeine that will get you through your first lecture or meeting. Once you reach the red beacon with the two distinctive letters, you find out that you have forgotten your own cup. No coffee? Unthinkable! The solution: a reusable coffee cup with a deposit.

For sustainability project leader at Radboud University Mo Tiel, this scenario sounds familiar. She has even come up with a solution: her beloved Billie Cup. ‘You can buy these at various coffee corners on campus, such as in the University Library, Grotius building and Refter’, she says.

Symbolic euro

The idea is simple. You buy a sustainable cup at the coffee corner for a symbolic amount, namely one euro. When you run out of coffee, you have two options: keep the cup for reuse, or hand it in and get the deposit back. This can be in the form of that one symbolic euro or a special Billie Cup coin. ‘You can then use the coin to get coffee again in the future. So this one is worth one euro’, said the project leader.

‘My dream is to introduce the Billie’s in Nijmegen, or maybe even all over the Netherlands’

The Billie Cup was introduced in May last year. Radboud University purchased roughly 20,000 sustainable cups. Exactly how many have since been sold, the sustainability project leader does not know. However, the introduction of the Billie Cup did lead to a reduction of roughly 180,000 disposable cups compared to the previous year. This is on average about 15 cups less per student per year. ‘The aftermath of the pandemic also plays into the decline. Still, this is good news, also because we have to get rid of our disposable cups in July’, Tiel says.

Circular system

From 1 July onwards, not a single disposable cup can be found on campus, even the characteristic green cups from the Spar will disappear. This is the result of a national ban on free disposable cups, as these ‘seemingly paper cups’ also contain plastic, the government reports on its website.

‘There will be more places on campus where you can buy and clean Billie’s’, says Tiel. According to her, this transition offers a great opportunity to combat waste and it is a good step towards a circular system.

She also thinks beyond the boundaries of the campus: ‘My dream is to introduce the Billie’s in Nijmegen, or maybe even all over the Netherlands,’ she says enthusiastically. This is something the university, together with the HAN University of Applied Sciences and ROC, is discussing with the municipality.

A trap

Billie is made of a sustainable monoplastic. The makers state on their website that after ‘five reuses, you make environmental gains’ compared to other materials. The Billie should be able to last for years.

Still, the cups also have a potential drawback. Namely, you should not forget to return your bought cup as well. There is a risk of a record number of Billie’s piling up in your kitchen cupboard. The project leader recognises this: ‘Sometimes you forget to bring the cup. I too have a few at home. Yet you are not supposed to accumulate so many, as that undermines the deposit system.’ An alternative is to bring your own mug from home.

According to Tiel, there is another good reason to return the pile of cups: ‘If you have five, you get five euros back from which you can immediately get new coffee. That then feels like free coffee’, she says while laughing.

Translated by Jan Scholten