Sustainable Successes in 2019

In the spring, Harper Adams launched their scheme to eliminate single-use plastic cups and replace them across campus. This was done in collaboration with the Shrewsbury Cup who are providing reusable cups across the county town. The Harper Catering Department introduced the orange coffee cups, emblazoned with the Harper shield, on a £1 deposit return basis to encourage the sustainability of plastic use on campus.

The initial trial was greatly successful and, as a result, the initiative was made campus wide at the start of the 2019/20 academic year. Now students and staff alike can be seen walking around campus with their orange cups, enjoying beverages from Kaldi, Graze, and Costa. Having paid the £1 deposit, the cup is yours for a hot or cold drink until you return it for your deposit fee. This can be done at any time during opening hours, giving users flexibility as well as making campus more sustainable.

Every day in the UK 7 million single-use paper cups are thrown away, and the university wants to do its part to reduce unnecessary waste. Launching Sustainable Harper has given a focus to making sustainable changes on campus, seeing us reduce the miles our food travels, reducing single use plastic, and attending the coming UN Climate Change Summit in 2020. We hope to widen the scope of this project going forward into the New Year.