9 January 2019

The League of Friends of The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital has switched to compostable cups for its takeaway drinks to lessen the impact on the environment.

Volunteer Jacky Spooner with one of the new cups

The League of Friends have replaced their regular, plastic-coated, takeaway cups with ‘Vegware’ cups which can be composted along with food waste. Even the ‘plastic’ lid has been replaced with an alternative which uses plant-based materials, so it will also decompose.

Lee Herkes, Shops Manager for the League of Friends, said that while it may seem like a small change, it could have a very big impact.

Lee said: “We sell around 3,000 takeaway drinks every week, so by making this change, that’s 156,000 cups a year which will not end up in landfill.

“Last year we replaced plastic straws with biodegradable alternatives to reduce the amount of plastic we use.”

Green campaigners want wider efforts to crack down on rising levels of plastic waste, from tiny shreds to drinks bottles and fishing gear, which is polluting the oceans and coasts, an issue which hit the headlines after being highlighted in the BBC’s Blue Planet II series.

Customers can donate using a QR code on the cups

The cups also include a QR code which customers can scan to donate to the League of Friends. The default donation is set to £5 but can be altered to a higher or lower amount (£1, £2, £3 or £10).

Lee said: “With the help of our customers, the League of Friends makes a great contribution to the work that takes place at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and we would like to thank those customers and all of our other donors for their continued support.”

In the last two years, around £2 million has been donated by the Friends to support the work of the hospital.

The Catering Team at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, introduced reusable takeaway mugs last year. The mugs cost £4 each and the price includes a free drink. On top of that, every time a customer uses the mug, they will receive a 15% discount on their hot drink.

SaTH also switched to biodegradable straws last year.