{"id":5939,"date":"2026-10-04T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/studentsunion\/?p=5939"},"modified":"2026-09-30T12:19:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T11:19:32","slug":"coffee-vs-cost-of-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/studentsunion\/2026\/10\/04\/coffee-vs-cost-of-living\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee vs. Cost of Living"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Blog by Chloe O’Malley, Student Officer Undergraduate Education <\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no surprise that as students we (sometimes) live on caffeine. En esta economia? Yeah, I know. Especially when exam\/assignment season rolls around buying coffee or tea again and again and again and again quickly adds up. My bank account learned that the hard way. But if I\u2019ve learned one thing from being a coffee shop regular, it\u2019s this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A keep cup pays off fast<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sun Oct 4 marks No Disposable Cup Day, where we are asked to sit in and use a mug, or use our own cups when we order food or drink at a caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which sounds easy enough, but in such a busy world those simple swaps go overlooked. So, we live the paper cup life, and where do they end up when we\u2019re done with them? In the (often wrong) bin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Queen\u2019s we throw away 45 single use cups per minute, which can rack up to 300,000 per year. And these cups cannot be recycled in a generic bin, nor are they all compostable. Waste sorters can do their best, but ultimately these aren\u2019t recycled to the fullest of their potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t worry though, that\u2019s not always the case! There is a single use cup recycling scheme that partners with major food and drink vendors (such as Caffe Nero) meaning their bins, to the best of their ability, become sustainable waste. But that\u2019s not the only sustainable solution\u2026 and this one may pique your interest a bit more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three words: Reusable cup incentives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Going for a reusable cup is far from easy (I know). But it has it\u2019s benefits once you make a habit out of it. Take the coffee shops on campus for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n