The NS has started a campaign to encourage train passengers to bring their own reusable cup.
The train operator wants to reduce the use of the 80,000 disposable cups that are used every day at the stations. The cups cannot be recycled and end up in the rubbish heap or end up in the environment.
This week, travelers at Utrecht Central station can see how much disposable cups can be saved by taking a reusable cup with them. In the middle of the station hall is a container with 3500 disposable cups, the number that is used every hour at the stations.
Legislation
The NS also wants to ban the disposable cup in the office. For example, the offices of the NS in Utrecht will be disposable cup-free from May. The carrier is thus anticipating national legislation: from 1 January 2024, coffee cups in the office must be washable or three quarters must be collected for recycling. And from July 2023, customers will have to pay extra for environmentally polluting packaging material for products to go.
Incidentally, coffee drinkers who bring their own mug or cup have received a 25 euro cent discount on a cup of coffee at stations since 2018.
“Bringing a reusable coffee cup with you should become normal,” NS spokesman Willemijn Weinands told RTV Utrecht† By 2040, all stations must be waste-free, i.e. there must be no residual waste and all materials must be recycled.
As of September 1, plastic bottles can also be returned at the five largest stations.
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