please use a reusable beverage container!

[maverick]

i often head downstairs to the starbucks in my building for an afternoon treat! it is frightening to imagine that we used 23 billion disposable cups in the u.s. in 2010! these cups are mostly made of new material rather than out of post consumer waste. and these cups cannot be recycled, so they end up in a landfill!

according to the link below, the manufacturing of a reusable beverage container creates about a 24 times larger negative environmental impact than the manufacturing of a disposable cup. however, the average reusable beverage container is designed to be reused 3,000 times!

Sustainability Is Sexy | The Environmental Problem with Coffee Cups

please, if you or someone you know enjoy drinking a latte, cappuccino, tea or other beverage treat, get your hands on a reusable beverage container today! there are options made out of ceramic and steel, many suitable for travel!

and reusable isn't just for cofee and tea! if you drink juices and smoothies, you can take a reusable cup with you to robeks, jamba juice, or other favorite juice and smoothie bar!

the lifefactory bottle, made out of glass, is a great choice for your water, juice or smoothie beverage! unlike plastic or metal, the glass won't affect the taste of your beverage and it won't stain.

happy drinking!

[Katy]

Very cool link Maverick!


I would also like to note that I'm extremely jealous that you have a Starbucks IN your building.

[maverick]

Very cool link Maverick!


I would also like to note that I'm extremely jealous that you have a Starbucks IN your building.

well, i am required to take the stairs or elevator all the way from the 9th floor to the lobby, open a set of double doors, walk down the hall, and open the door from within the building to the starbucks, in order to get my drink...so it isn't like it's RIGHT THERE!

[Lani]

I hate using single-use cups. I have a bunch of coffee cups and tea cups at work, as well as a cold beverage tumbler.

My FAVORITESTS are:

- Bodum double-wall glass coffee cups. They're so... sexy!

- Double-walled insulated travel tumblers. You can buy them everywhere now, but coffee shops seems to have them most consistently (Tully, Peet's, Starbucks). They come in various sizes and heights. Most standard is 16 ounces but you can get 24-oz and such. Starbucks JUST came out with a holiday-themed one that's only 12 ounces. When I remove its straw, it's actually small enough to stash in my Packing Cube Shoulder Bag when I'm traveling. This is awesome, because then I can just refill it with water and get free ice. If I want to flavor it, I just add a dash of Mio water flavorer.

I really hate seeing people use styrofoam cups at work. It's SO wasteful.

[maverick]

I really hate seeing people use styrofoam cups at work. It's SO wasteful.

thanks for sharing the suggestions, lani!

our company provided everyone with reusable ceramic mugs and a water bottle (although the water bottle wasn't of the highest quality). encourage your workplace to do the same! you can have ceramic mugs and glasses for visitors to use, eliminating the need for styrofoam, plastic, and anything else disposable!

[maverick]

we have a pottery painting cafe nearby called clay cafe. i love painting pottery and using it and giving it as a gift!

my son has painted various things - plates, cups, a cupcake container. we have a plate with a train, another with dinosaurs, and i'm sure we'll be doing one with lightning mcqueen since cars is his latest obsession! we love eating and drinking from these dishes!

they often have travel mugs available for us to paint. these may not be as effective at keeping your beverage hot as the double insulated travel mugs, but they are a joy to use!

i would say paint one as a holiday gift, but why wait that long? paint one today! oh, wait until it comes out of the kiln and cools before you give it them.

[Jenne]

I always use a reusable cup when I can, but I've now been to two different cafes that claim they can't put coffee in reusables (a Starbucks in the Mandalay Bay in Vegas and a Java City at my university.) I'm sort of worrying that this is going to become a trend.

[maverick]

I always use a reusable cup when I can, but I've now been to two different cafes that claim they can't put coffee in reusables (a Starbucks in the Mandalay Bay in Vegas and a Java City at my university.) I'm sort of worrying that this is going to become a trend.

oh no - that's awful!

i would think that coffee shops would encourage the use of reusable beverage containers. not only does it reduce the waste, but it also reduces their costs!

the next time you're there, point out to the folks at starbucks that their website encourages the use of reusable beverage containers by offering 10 cents off the purchase of your beverage.

interesting tidbit - if you drink one cup of coffee a day, over the course of 50 years, opting to use reusable beverage container results in seven trees that do not need to be cut down!

[Jenne]

I've taken to not returning to places that don't let me use my own cup, but I was stuck at the Mandalay Bay-- the Starbucks was the only vegan option for breakfast or lunch within three miles (I was at a con, without a car.) My brother, who lives in Vegas, says he thinks it might have something to do with liquor laws, but the local place's justification is sanitation. I think it's nuts, when so many people are trying to be more sustainable. (As nuts as bottled water and those new "disposable towels" some company has introduced because they're "more sanitary" than cloth! It's almost like some people want to take us the opposite direction as fast as possible!)

(It's also a little ironic to talk about sanitation in a place that still allows smoking indoors in public places. The asthma attack will kill me way faster than any germs from someone else's coffee cup!)

[backpack]

Another big pet peeve line of products is the proliferation of single serving plastic cups coffee machines. It would be alright if they were equipped with a mini reusable: coffee filter, loose tea holder/diffuser and cocoa making cup.

I did some search and many third party suppliers offer reusable filters and holders.

[dorayme]

I ran into the "sanitation" issues in college. On the weekends the kitchen staff was lower and they used paper products in the dining hall. I refused to use them. They wouldn't let me bring my own. I became known as the girl who ate off the tray. It wasn't a fun thing to have my food run together, but I knew that I wasn't contributing to the landfill issue, and the trays were washed in the same sanitation system as the plates and silverware so I knew it was just as clean. It just looked kind of gross.

[Lani]

oh no - that's awful!

i would think that coffee shops would encourage the use of reusable beverage containers. not only does it reduce the waste, but it also reduces their costs!

the next time you're there, point out to the folks at starbucks that their website encourages the use of reusable beverage containers by offering 10 cents off the purchase of your beverage.

interesting tidbit - if you drink one cup of coffee a day, over the course of 50 years, opting to use reusable beverage container results in seven trees that do not need to be cut down!

I suspect the silly "Sorry, can't pour into a non-single use container" is probably some management mandate related to the Health Department and whatnot. I know the counter at Coke Corner in Disneyland won't refill the refillable mugs with soda (they will fill a paper cup, then pour the contents from the paper cup into the refillable mug).

Places like Starbucks go gaga over people who actually interact with them over social media. My suggestion is to regularly post to their Facebook page or tweet them every time it happens, and complain about how you think it's negating any good works they're doing towards a smaller carbon footprint. ESPECIALLY places like Starbucks, that SELLS reusable drinkware!! D'oh.

[Jenne]

I have one of those (single serve coffee machine) and it does have its own little reusable filter (mine is a Breville, that came with a reusable.) The coffee is better freshly ground anyway.