Sir, – I recently took the train from Cork to Dublin and when the trolley service came by I ordered a tea and requested to have it in my own steel flask which I carry to avoid single-use plastic cups. But the attendant apologised, saying they weren’t allowed to fill personal reusable cups, and that I was obliged to use a plastic-coated branded cup from the supplier of the tea. Later, I ordered another tea from the trolley service, and I asked for my first cup to be refilled. The attendant apologised again, saying they had to use a fresh cup for each drink, something about the cups having to be counted and correspond with the sale of each drink. While I commend Irish Rail for the return of their onboard catering service, are they so far behind the times when almost all other tea and coffee outlets allow us to bring our own reusable cups? Whether it’s Irish Rail or the tea supplier, this is not just disappointing but a completely unsustainable practice in a time when plastics are causing untold damage to our environment, not to mention the microplastics that are now floating around inside our own bodies. I understand there may be some health and safety issue here, but I urge whoever is in charge of the catering service to promptly change their policy and permit customers to use their own keep cups or reuse the single-use ones they have purchased. – Yours, etc,
KLAUS HARVEY,
Kilbrittain,
Co Cork.