Every morning in the Netherlands, 5 million disposable cups are used once and thrown away. Only 4% of this is recycled and a large part ends up on the street as litter. Due to new legislation and initiatives such as Plastic-free Terrace there is an increasing demand for reusable deposit cups. From July 2023, coffee shops will even have to charge money for a disposable take-away cup. Fortunately, you can already find the WeCup receive a reusable To-Go cup developed by Zandvoort resident Jody Koenders.
INITIATIVE BY ZANDVOORTER JODY KOENDERS
Jody opened his coffee shop Bar Gast in Haarlem just before Corona time, the time when many people were forced to switch to take-away coffee. Large quantities of take-away cups were passed through every day. These cups appear to be made of cardboard, but are coated with plastic and therefore not durable at all. There had to be another way, thought surfer and snowboarder Jody, who lives in Zandvoort. And so, after some research, he came up with the development of the WeCup. Within a short time he found other Haarlem coffee shops that wanted to join this, supported by the Municipality of Haarlem. You can now also find the WeCup in other Dutch cities and of course also in his 'hometown' Zandvoort.
HOW DOES THE WECUP WORK?
The WeCup is a reusable coffee-to-go cup, a cup that you purchase and use for €1 (deposit). You then keep the cup for the next coffee to-go or you return it to the same coffee shop or another coffee shop that participates. You will then get your €1 back. So it actually costs you nothing. But it does save a lot of money, waste and litter.
THAT IS HOW IT WORKS:
WECUP IN ZANDVOORT
In Zandvoort you can find the WeCup at the following beach bars and coffee shops:
In Haarlem, in addition to Bar Gast, Cleeff, By Lima, Mama Gaia, Kweekcafé, Anne&Max, Het Veerkwartier and Guus Koffie are also participating in this initiative. You can also return the WeCup here. Read more about the WeCup in Haarlem on the Haarlem City Blog blog.
NEW LEGISLATION
The WeCup initiative already responds to new legislation that is coming before 2023. There will be a ban on the free coffee-to-go cup as of July 1. Catering entrepreneurs will then have to charge an extra amount for the cup. At the same time, reuse is encouraged because entrepreneurs must also offer reusable alternatives. Read more about this here new legislation that is coming.
BECOME A PARTNER
Do you have a catering business in Zandvoort or the surrounding area and would you also like to become a partner of WeCup, please send an email to Jody at [email protected]. The Municipality of Zandvoort supports this initiative and pays the subscription costs for the first year for participating catering entrepreneurs.
MORE INFO
For more information, see:
Or contact Jody Koenders at [email protected].
LOVE FROM ZANDVOORT, X KRISTEL
October 2022 This blog was created in association with WeCup and is made possible by Rabobank.
