By Sustainability Editor Erica Elliott.
In 2023 DCU Caffe Vergnano introduced a new system through a hire company with the aim to encourage people to reduce their waste by reusing the Vytal cups and bowls.
This was opposed to the usual disposable cups which they provide, and although they are compostable, they can still contribute to pollution, and require specific conditions to be broken down.
DCU is ranked in the top 6% of institutions worldwide for environmental sustainability, compared to 2024 where it was ranked in the top 10%, according to the QS Sustainability Rankings.
Sustainability manager for DCU, Samantha Fahy spoke to The Bulletin stating “much of the work of the sustainability office is to embed an ethos of sustainability across the campus, and while there is still a lot to do, significant progress has been made”.
A barista who works at Caffe Vergnano, Lily Ciulei, spoke about the Vytal machines that are placed across campus. This scheme allows people to use reusable take away cups instead of disposable ones, they not only run in the restaurant, but also in the nursing building.
“So even if you scan here, you can drop it in the nursing building…it’s not that hard, you know”. Although when asked if people shy away from using this system, she said “only a few people” still make the conscious decision to use them now.
“I think quite a lot” of people would completely turn away as they were simply not bothered.
According to the An Taisce Green Campus Annual Report 2024/2025, in 2023/2024 students undertook a project to investigate the popularity of the scheme on Glasnevin and St.Pat’s campuses.
Overall, they found there was a “low awareness and usage of the Vytal system among students in DCU”.
Following this, the report examines the DCU Trispace’s (DCU Catering company) dedication to the full removal of all single use cups on DCU campuses for the academic year 2024/2025. However the report stated “the implementation did not run smoothly and following a year of implementation there are serious concerns”.
It was also stated that apart from the reduction in coffee purchases, “large numbers [in the thousands] of the vytal cups are going missing”.
While the cafe provides porcelain mugs and disposable cups, they still encourage customers to adapt to this more environmentally friendly method. Fahy noted that DCU “sustainability works with all across the DCU campuses to encourage, support and try to embed more sustainable approaches”.
Since 2014, DCU has been an active member of the An Taisce Green Campus Programme.
The university gained their first Green Flag for the Glasnevin Campus back in 2014 and have since driven a series of actions co-ordinated by the DCU Green Committee – which has both staff and student involvement.
Vice President for Community and Citizenship, Emily Cathcart is the DCU Student Union representative for Sustainability, where she co-chairs the Students Green Committee.
While DCU have incorporated recycling, new systems such as the Vytal cups and bowls, a biodiversity plan and more, predicaments still arise elsewhere, specifically smoking.
Implementing more eco-friendly practices is a key part of regulating DCU’s carbon footprint, and creating a partial smoke free campus is one of the latest proposals that the Student Union have put forth.
According to the Taisce report from 2024 “cigarette butts are by far the most common type of litter found across all surveyed areas”.
DCU Sustainability has undertaken litter surveys which indicate that they are “the highest litter items on campus”.
Fahy mentioned that DCU Sustainability has “worked with DCU Healthy to encourage DCU to move to a smoke free campus”, but that “more effort is needed to encourage the necessary behavioural change that will encourage smokers to either, not smoke on campus, or at least put their butts in the bin”.
However she reflected that “sustainability is not currently resourced to progress this further at this time”.