You no longer have to burn your fingers clasping one of those flimsy plastic cups. Starting this week, students can buy an Erasmug on campus. This sustainable travelling mug is not only easy on your mitts, but also good news for the environment. And talking about good news: using an Erasmug entitles you to an extra 10-cent discount for coffees ordered on campus.
The Erasmug is the brainchild of the Erasmus Sustainability Hub, explains Germaine Fraser, who studies Economics and Law and is part of the Hub team. They started offering the mug a few weeks ago, and it has sold like hotcakes from the start. “In that short time we have already sold 400 mugs. Four hundred!” says an enthusiastic Fraser.
Nice memento
The mug doesn’t just shift that well because of sustainability, though. According to Criminology student Sharon Ubani, some people see the mug as a fun souvenir of their time at the university. “For example, we recently got a request for a mug from a student in Morocco. This person had studied here for a while and thought it would be a nice memento.”
The intention is for users to take the Erasmug home with them for washing up. But you’ll still find plenty of people who rinse the mug on campus and then wash it a second time when they get home. Does the amount of plastic saved by this initiative weigh up against the extra water that is wasted? Ubani: “The manufacture of plastic cups consumes a lot of water. So you’re actually saving water when you use an Erasmug.”
The Erasmug costs EUR 8.95 and can be purchased from campus caterer VITAM. By the end of October, you will be able to buy the mug at a number of locations on campus.
