We’re Changing Queen Mary and Pilkington Cafés, 

…and we’ve gone disposable cup free

We appreciate that disposables cups are convenient but they are not a necessity. We lead on life-changing research, providing new insight and solutions to the most pressing issues of our time and we’d like our actions as an organisation to reflect our determination to achieve positive change in the world.

That’s why, with our main catering provision moving to Dreadnought, we’ve decided to make Queen Mary Café (Greenwich) and Pilkington Cafe (Medway) disposable cup free; to do our part in helping prevent unnecessary plastic waste. This will enable us to offer a new tariff at this cafe, as the cost of the disposable cup isn’t applied, reducing the cost of your coffee.

We understand many of us would use reusable cups more if it were easier to do. So to help facilitate a smooth transition to reusable cups for our staff and students we’re introducing ‘Buy It, Bring It, Swap It’ for those that aren’t fussed about the cup they get and don’t want to keep washing their cup throughout the day.

The principle is simple:

• Buy a cup for as little as £2.95 and get your first coffee for free
• Bring it back with you when visiting to buy your next hot drink
• Swap it for a replacement cup by simply handing it to the Barista when ordering your drink and ask for a clean cup.

We’ll continue to provide crockery for those drinking in, and will have a range of reusable cups that you can purchase at cost price if you want a cup to match your style.

Making this change will prevent approximately 60,000 disposable cups being wasted every year, that’s equivalent to 90 wheelie bins of coffee cups.

To find out more go to our FAQ pages for more information.