Coffee; you can’t get through a college year without it.

But all those disposable coffee cups mount up, causing a huge environmental headache. In fact, 200 million beverage cups are disposed of annually in Ireland. That equates to 22,000 every hour.

This year, University College Cork has come up with a solution. The college is handing every new student their own reusable bamboo coffee cup to drink from on campus.

Not only will up to 4,500 students receive a free bamboo mug in their first year welcome pack, all retailers on UCC campus will offer a drinks discount to every student user so it’s a win/win.

“Cork City Council is encouraged to see that University College Cork is playing its part in the fight against single use disposable coffee cups.” says Cork City Council Chief Scientist Mary Walsh.

“We are proud to have been involved in this initiative and it builds on the action that we have taken against single use plastics in our own local authority offices.”