The municipality has informed the Tilburg catering industry with a letter that from 1 January 2023 it must use environmentally friendly drinking cups, so-called hard cups, at events. The hospitality industry reacts reasonably positively to this, but also sees snags. “I already have to hire an extra man to rinse those hard cups.”
Normally, the catering industry uses plastic disposable cups during carnival. They will be banned nationwide from 2024, but the municipality of Tilburg wants to switch to the hard cups a year earlier. They are better for the environment.
Deposit for your cup
She does this in collaboration with DrinkCup. This company also arranged the hard plastic cups during the eleventh of the eleventh in Den Bosch. Here we worked with deposits. You pay extra with your first drink and get this amount back when you return the cup.
Alderman Maarten van Asten says that the municipality could already switch to hard cups this year. “From next year it will be mandatory nationally and we are therefore a bit ahead,” explains the alderman. “To make it easier for the entrepreneurs, we will arrange it this year. Next year, that responsibility will lie with the catering industry.”
Staff shortage
The hospitality industry is not negative, but certainly not only positive about the plans of the municipality. “It’s no different,” says Sander Struijcken of café Stoffel. “We just have to deal with it, as we always have to do as a hospitality industry. If the pain points are gone, it could also be nice.”
Those pain points are, for example, with the deposit. “How and where can people return those cups? That is something I wonder about,” he continues. And here too, the shortage of personnel plays a role. “Those plastic disposable cups go straight into the trash, but now I need an extra man to rinse the hard cups.”
There will be an information meeting on Tuesday 10 January, where questions can be put to the municipality and DrinkCup.