{"id":162445,"date":"2023-12-13T11:17:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T10:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=162445"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:06","slug":"from-metal-to-plastic-cutlery-quite-honestly-its-pure-crap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/12\/13\/from-metal-to-plastic-cutlery-quite-honestly-its-pure-crap\/","title":{"rendered":"From metal to plastic cutlery: ‘Quite honestly it\u2019s pure crap’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the beginning of this academic year, the cutleries used in Vitam cafeterias on campus changed from metal to recycled polypropylene. The new plastic silverware costs 25 cents a piece and is said to last \u2018up to a hundred times\u2019.<\/p>\n

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The new plastic cutlery is said to 'last up to a hundred times'.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTyna Le<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Students and staff have since had to pay 0,25 euros for each fork, spoon, or knife, or 1,75 euros for an entire cutlery set \u2013 which includes its own portable box. \u201cQuite honestly it\u2019s pure crap\u201d, Marketing Management student Yolande thinks of the new cutlery found in The Company and Etude cafeterias. \u201cThey break all the time, they\u2019re not even good quality. Vitam says you can use them a hundred times, absolutely not. You can barely use it one time.\u201d A nearby Econometrics student agrees. \u201cThe knives are quite shit, you cut with it once and then you can\u2019t use it again. The teeth of the fork bend all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not aware<\/h2>\n\t
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\n\t\tI have been buying these and throwing them away, I didn\u2019t think they were reusable\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIBCoM student Zuzanna\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Beyond the dire quality, the reusability of these new cutlery sets is also limited as students keep forgetting to bring them back. \u201cThis is the third spoon I\u2019ve bought\u201d, Media and Business student Nikolas confesses. Others like Zuzanna, a second-year IBCoM student, say that they were not even aware that these new cutlery sets were meant to be reused. \u201cI started coming here pretty recently so I didn\u2019t know that they had normal forks before. I have been buying these and throwing them away, I didn\u2019t think they were reusable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The head of the Erasmus Sustainability Hub, Natasza Ciepal, warns that there is a \u2018huge pile of waste\u2019 being gathered as a result of this shift to plastic cutleries. \u201cThe EUR community already produces a huge amount of waste and this is just adding to the problem\u201d. A quick look at Etude\u2019s trash bins after the lunch period confirm her worries. Among bottles and other food wraps, the new \u2018reusable\u2019 forks and spoons can be abundantly found in the plastics and cartons bin located by the exit of the cafeteria.<\/p>\n

Mass theft<\/h2>

Amidst these broken forks and forgotten spoons, students like Zuzanna are left wondering \u2018why would Vitam get rid of the metal cutlery?\u2019 Martijn Boersma, EUR Real Estate and Facilities team leader overviewing Vitam cafeterias, suggests redirecting this question back to the EUR community. \u201cAt the beginning of each semester, Vitam loses all their cutlery because people take it home. It\u2019s very expensive for Vitam to replace the metal cutlery every time. The students, or whoever took it, cut their own fingers, cause now you have to buy cutlery if you want to eat your soup. Or bring your own\u201d, he says. According to Michel Flaton, Vitam\u2019s general manager, the company was losing between 5,000 to 6,000 euros each year just to replace the missing silverware.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, in addition to the escalating prices of high-quality metal cutlery over the years, the Covid-19 pandemic caused substantial delays in shipping the utensils from China, reaching up to several weeks. \u201cWe could no longer meet the demand and replace the cutleries on time in our restaurants\u201d, Flaton says.<\/p>\n

No preventive measures<\/h2>

\u201cI understand that it was a huge problem for Vitam, resulting in a loss of money, but I do not support such a change\u201d, Ciepal responds. \u201cThey didn\u2019t even consider other options. I would have done a campaign to promote not stealing the metal cutlery first, for example\u201d.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Flaton confirms that there were no preventive measures enforced as \u2018it is very difficult to control\u2019. However, Vitam did test other materials before reaching to the polypropylene in question, such as wood and bamboo. \u201cI don\u2019t know if you had tried eating soup from a wooden spoon before, or cutting meat with a wooden knife, but it\u2019s not a pretty sight. We also tried bamboo but it\u2019s not reusable and you have to grow and transport it from far away, which is not sustainable. We had people test the polypropylene cutleries over the summer and they could cut their steak and eat their soup normally, without a wooden taste in their mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Vitam spends 5,000 to 6,000 euros each year to replace missing silverware.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTyna Le<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Eye-catching posters<\/h2>

Zuzanna would like to see more reuse and suggests making improved and eye-catching posters placed at the exit informing about the reusability of these new cutlery sets. Additionally, she also recommends placing sinks next to the trash bins to encourage people to clean their cutlery rather than disposing of it. \u201cCleaning it in the bathroom is not convenient, it\u2019s not on the way. It\u2019s much easier now for people to simply throw it away. You just have to think of those things in design.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nikolas suggests another system altogether. \u201cJust like with the deposit return system with plastic bottles, I would go back to the metal cutlery and pay a small deposit for it, which you would get back only after returning it. They also do this at music festivals and bars with cups.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Cleaner than clean\u2019 <\/h2>

Michel Flaton informs that as of January, Vitam will implement such a \u2018statiegeld\u2019 <\/em>system, but keeping the same polypropylene material. \u201cWe are working on a system where people get some sort of pass or token after returning their cutlery set, cup or container, we are not really sure what that\u2019s going to be yet.\u201d The dirty \u2018circularware\u2019, as Vitam has labelled them, will then be sent to a separate cleaning company with electric vehicles and brought back to Vitam to be reused. \u201cEverything will be cleaner than clean\u201d, Flaton assures.<\/p>\n

Despite Vitam cafeterias having dishwashers on campus, Flaton remarks that drying the cutlery is the biggest issue, as this new material doesn\u2019t dry very easily and requires \u2018a lot of manual labour\u2019. \u201cThe company that we are going to use has extremely big dishwashers, about 18 meters, and 15 meters of that is a drying tunnel. It\u2019s basically the size of a street, which wouldn\u2019t fit on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Metal harder to recycle\u2019<\/h2>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018With polypropylene, you can easily melt it and make a new fork and knife out of it\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVitam manager Michel Flaton\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Nevertheless, given polypropylene\u2019s proneness to breakage, as reported by the students, Nikolas still believes that going back to metal is a better solution. \u201cThis plastic will most likely break before you get to the hundredth time. I don\u2019t understand what is the issue with having metal cutlery here, it is also reusable. In the long run it\u2019s more sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Flaton, metal cutlery has \u2018all sorts of other stuff\u2019, such as chromium, which makes it harder to recycle. \u201cWith polypropylene, you can easily melt it and make a new fork and knife out of it.\u201d This is why he reminds students to hand in their broken cutlery to Vitam staff, who will make sure that it goes back to the company and recycle it into a new cutlery set.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, it\u2019s a little bit more bendy than regular metal cutlery, but if you use it normally, you should be able to keep it together\u201d. In any case, students and staff can share their remarks on the new cutleries by requesting a \u2018feedback card\u2019 at the cashier registers.<\/p>\n

Until further notice, Flaton informs that the old metal cutlery will only be used for banqueting activities on campus such as lunches and buffets.<\/p>\n

\u2018Bring your own is the future\u2019 <\/h2>

Regardless of the cutlery\u2019s material, Boersma reminds students about a broader cultural shift taking place. \u201cIf we see the movement in the Netherlands and in the rest of the world of becoming more sustainable, the future is that you will have a cup and a cutlery set in your bag.\u201d \u201cPeople will have to get used to these kinds of systems because a lot of other companies will start working with this \u2018bring-your-own\u2019 principle\u201d, Flaton adds.<\/p>\n

However, the sustainability impact of these new cutlery sets is yet to be assessed. \u201cThe same way you can\u2019t track how many times a plastic bag has been reused once it\u2019s been purchased at the supermarket, right now, we just sell the cutlery sets and what happens after that is up to the costumer that bought it. But with this new procedure, we will actually get the stuff back so we can make sure it is being washed and reused the correct way\u201d, Flaton assures.<\/p>\n

Despite this \u2018more sustainable\u2019 approach, Flaton says that the \u2018statiegeld\u2019<\/em> system was not implemented from the beginning as Vitam did not want to follow the same fate as PackBack, whose reusable cup pilot programme was discontinued after a couple of months. \u201cIt takes a lot of preparation to do this. You have to implement stuff when you really know it will work. September is crazy busy on campus, for us and other vendors. So, there is no time to see if a project is working, it\u2019s better to do that in January after the winter break\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\t

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Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t