Cup Library is cutting waste at GCU

GCU has teamed up with Yoyo Cups and caterers BaxterStorey to help reduce the number of single-use cups used and thrown away on campus.

We are piloting a 'Cup Library' to enable students and staff who do not have a re-useable travel mug to borrow one when they buy a drink.

GCU's Yoyo Cup Library runs in the Sir Alex Ferguson Library café, the staff social space and Reunion in the Students' Association.

You can get a Yoyo Cup for a £4 refundable deposit and exchange it for a clean one when you're buying a hot drink. When you no longer need it, you get your £4 back. GCU IS the first large-scale trial for Yoyo Cups and it is hoped the scheme will be adopted across Scotland.

Professor Andrea Nelson, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research, helped launch the library today, Tuesday, September 27, to mark Climate Week 2022.

She said: 'We all know we should reduce, re-use and recycle - but recycling single-use cups is the last thing we should be trying to do. So, I am delighted to be here to help launch a reusable cup scheme on campus. The University's commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals means sustainability is at the heart of our campus and these reusable cups are a great symbol of what we, with the Students' Association, want to do."

Professor Nelson was joined by GCU students and staff as well as Yoyo Cups' co-founders Marian Brown and Mary Michel, and representatives of BaxterStorey.

Mary said: "Single use cups have to go – the waste, the pollution and the increasing financial cost makes them unsustainable in every way. Having an organisation the size of GCU on board for a large-scale pilot project underlines what a game changer this could be.''

Paulo Cruz, GCU's Sustainability Officer, said: "The GCU Yoyo Cup Library supports our commitment to zero waste. At GCU single-use cups account for around 5% of our general waste, all of which is processed into a refuse-derived fuel. Yoyo Cups are zero waste by design and will help us reduce this difficult-to-recycle waste stream at source."

More than 200 million single-use paper cups are used in Scotland every year and it is estimated that only one in every 400 is recycled or composted. Carbon neutral after just nine uses, Yoyo Cups are made from food-grade steel, so they are resistant to wear and tear and heat resistant, and are extremely durable and recyclable. Every time a Yoyo Cup is used instead of a throw away cup, 44g of CO2e are saved.

Their double-walled design helps keep drinks hotter for longer and avoids the need for a cardboard sleeve. Their silicon lid can also be recycled by Yoyo Cups.