Did You Know:
- University College of Cork became the first university in the world to be awarded a Green Flag in 2010.l
- They recently hit another milestone in becoming the wold leading university in receiving 5 Green Flags.
- Plastic Free UCC is the new initiative introduced in 2020 which aims to eliminate plastic across the campus by the students, shops and restaurants.
- In its first year it prevented 2 million single use plastic cups from campus and ultimately landfill.
- It aims to target single use plastic cups, bottles and remove disposable cups.
- There’s a deposit return system, students can bring their own coffee cups, or pay €2 for a returnable cup.
- Alternatives were introduced to make the transition easier such as providing water fountains to fill up reusable bottles and having the return scheme.
- The campus aims to be zero waste by 2030 and carbon neutral by 2040 by phasing out fossil fuel energy and transitioning into renewable energy.
- They also have a community garden, rewilded areas, wild meadows and green spaces to encourage students to spend time in nature.
What You Can Do:
- Consider more sustainable choices in your life, for instance bringing a reusable water bottle with you to avoid buying single use plastic bottles.
- Purchase a reusable coffee cup to avoid single use coffee cups.
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