Be addicted peacefully!

We all know how addictive caffeine can be. MTB students brag all the time about the amount of coffee they can drink in one day. But what does this addiction mean for the environment?

Over 65 000 students live in the city of Ghent. If one out of ten students drinks a coffee out of a plastic cup every day, this corresponds with 6500 cups a day. This means 1.170.000 plastic cups a year (180 school days).  So, the question is: how do we make our coffee greener? The University of Ghent replaced the coffee with fair trade coffee a couple of years ago, but is this really enough?

Nespresso came up with a wonderful idea: the portable coffee machine, called "The Ecospresso" This machine is made with eco-friendly materials, has an incorporated cup (no plastic cups anymore!), and uses capsules that are 100% recyclable. Moreover, it is filled with fair trade coffee. . Nespresso has developed its own quality program, in collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance. This program has been running since 2003 and it helps coffee farmers to grow better quality beans.Now they can ask a higher price and live a better life! Isn’t that wonderful? And let’s face it : the taste of a Nespresso is much better than the instant coffee at University. Now you can drink as many coffees as you want  without harming the environment. Be addicted in peace!

Déborah 

Is caffeine really addictive?

Caffeine is a form of a CNS (Central Nervos system) stimulant drug which occurs in nature as part of the coffee, tea and yerba mate plants. […] Although caffeine's mechanism of action is somewhat different from that of many other addictive drugs (cocaine or the amphetamines, for example), it nonetheless creates a similar pattern of dependence. (Source: Wikipedia)