Disposables....again.....

I used to work at a small bakery in my hometown. In the mornings, of course, there would be a line out the door of people looking to get their coffee fix. A lot of people brought there own mugs (we take 50 cents off), many stayed awhile and would read the newspaper while drinking out of our trademark white mug, and unfortunately the majority would grab a to-go cup and be on there way. Each to-go cup needed to be hand stamped with the logo, and we went through A LOT of cups. Not only cups, but the bakery also acted as a to-go foods stop in the afternoons. They used compostable containers, but don't compost. So, essentially they were paying extra money for compostable packaging that was really just ending up in the landfill.

It's odd to think about, but at Starbucks you might sit and linger at a table, but you do everything with to-go cups. You get a to-go cup, even if you're staying in (the same is even true at Colorado Coffee). Starbucks annually goes through 4 billion cups. They don't compost. The stores lack recycling. However, (I just learned this) you do get 10 cents off every time you bring your own mug. So, regardless of how "recycled" the cups at Starbucks are becoming , I would guess that 99 percent of all cups end up in the landfill.

Even At CC I often wonder about the amount of disposable packaging we go through. Rastall is the best in that regard: everything is reusable, they compost, and you feel like a legit person when you eat there not a "commuter." Benjis is the worst. First off: the recycling/composting system confuses just about everyone. So, you can compost all food/plates/forks (?)/napkins but what about the smaller things? Ketchup containers? Straws? Trash goes in the middle, but who knows what is actually considered trash? Oh! Even worse. Much of the food containers are "recyclable" but how can you recycle something that is filled with leftover food? Major failure. So, either Bon Apetit doesn't actually recycle much of it, or someone literally goes through and sorts. What is the point of Colorado Coffee having compostable to-go cups if nearly all of the people buying drinks throw them away in different buildings?

Major moral dilemma. Bringing my own cup = only solution. And plate, and fork, and knife.... and the list goes on and on.

Stat Cite:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mindylubber/2011/09/19/percolating-a-sustainable-coffee-cup/

the new cup.

Reusable iced tea/coffee cups are kind of a new thing. While portable coffee mugs have been around a while and therefore come in all different sorts of materials (stainless, porcelain etc..) iced drink cups come in one form: plastic. They pretty much all look like that, give or take the color or size.

I'm not the biggest fan of cheap plastic that will (generally) end up being a waste of money because whatever you buy almost instantaneously breaks. But, I wanted to try one of these out. Plastic is plastic, and a fancy designer label will buy you the same thing as something cheaper, so I got this one at Walmart. All it cost me was $1.97. That's less than an iced coffee at Colorado Coffee by more than 50 cents. That's essentially how much they charge you for the throw away cup they give you. And while they probably overcharge by quite a lot, the price I paid at Walmart seems wrong.....

I didn't intend to go there.... Being a smart consumer the best choice would have been to go to a local store and buy something more expensive, but generally the same as what I bought. Couldn't think of a store, so I went to Whole Foods (which, debatably, is the next best thing) weirdly, they didn't have what I was looking for. So, I tried Target, but ultimately got mildly lost on North Academy Blvd. and turned into the Walmart I just happened to pass.

Essentially my choice to shop at Walmart was unethical. In one of the Naess readings from last night (the one about self realization) I found a quote I really liked. "We're here to embrace, rather than conquer the world," said by Patsy Hallen. Walmart is the perfect example of the opposite. To me, it's humanity conquering the world in the worst way possible. With so much excess, you barely even think about the choices you're making, all you think about is how cheap everything is.

As I was buying the cup, I was starting to think I was doing more harm than good by making this purchase. But, I bought it anyway. The true testament to its worthwhileness will be to see how long it holds up. If I manage to keep it for a few months, then I could be potentially saving dozens of one use iced cups. Though they are composted (apparently, and I plan to look into that more) waste is waste. And having one less thing to throw away is good, though it's something small, it is something.

April 1

Today I was not being an eco-friendly citizen.

The sun was shining, 80 degree temps, and the newly green tips of the trees promised that spring is on the horizon. It was a good day, but I was careless. Three different drink containers, all mine, all within three hours of each other. When summer weather, strikes so does my desire for icy beverages. Between iced coffee, iced tea, and iced chai, I might as well glue the cup to my hand just to feel that delicious, summer sensation of sugar and caffeine, freezing cold in my overheating palms.

So, that's what I got this morning: an iced chai. But eventually decided I needed a LOT more energy for the days activities and switched to coffee, rounding out the day with a very stupid purchase of a plastic water bottle.

In the winter i've been pretty good about bringing my own mug for hot drinks, but somehow this idea has not carried through to summer just yet. The amount of trash I had to throw away at the end of today seemed wasteful: it made me feel pretty bad. I should have at least reused one of the cups, and entirely done without the bottle of water (I have PLENTY of water bottles, I mean seriously!).

So....my proposition. No more to-go iced drink containers. Stay tuned for what I think about the current reusable iced drink containers.... And DEFINITELY no more plastic water bottles.

Mainly, I want to both prove to myself that much of what I buy comes with unecessary packaging, and that by making smarter decisions and working to use more reusable products, I will feel like I am making less wasteful daily decisions. I hope to eliminate all "one time use" packaging, and look into options such as buying snack foods in bulk, bringing my own silverware (instead of using disposable), and most importantly, completely eliminating my habit of buying iced drinks in plastic cups.

If I don't bring my cup with me, i'm not getting a drink! Sounds like a fair compromise.