Jenn Breckenridge
Eco Journalist
- November 6, 2008 • 6:08 am PST
- + responses
I'm
not generally into making New Year's resolutions and, until now, I've
never actually kept one. Back in December 2007, I went to have a late night
tea with a friend. There was a Coffee Bean And Tea Leaf right there, so
we popped in for their last call. I didn't actually want the tea I
ordered, I just wanted to talk with my friend and it seemed polite to
have a tea together. My mint tea came in not just one paper cup, but
two, and a sleeve. These people really wanted to protect me from the
heat of my luke warm tea. I'd been trying to cut down on
excess waste (plastic bags and all that), so I gave them back one of
the cups. As I sat with my friend, sipping this tea I didn't really
want to begin with, I just realized I can't do this anymore. I looked
at my friend and said, "This is my last paper cup."
Americans use and throw away 15,000,000,000 paper cups a year.
The number is so massive, my calculator literally can't actually
display it. We love our morning cup of joe on the go in The States, and
apparently we prefer the kind of cup that we can throw "away." Well,
rumor has it there's actually no such thing as "away." All our waste
stays right here on Planet Earth with us, generally in landfills, which
are made up of 40-50% paper waste. So in essence, humans chop
trees down to make things we use one time, and then bury them in the
ground. When it comes to trees, it's like we're psychokiller
necrophiliacs. Weird.
Well, my New Year's resolution is holding up for once. I buy a
coffee every single day and I've only used one paper cup in ‘08, when
my barista didn't hear me say "For here, please." If I'm near my house,
I just take a mug right from the cabinet and take it to the coffee
shop. They love that. I did recently find a near-perfect travel mug
that hermetically seals so it won't leek in my bag, which I was pretty
excited about. (Geek.) Though as one of my favorite bloggers No Impact Man points out, the best travel mug in the world is free and you probably already have one. It's called a glass jar.
Inspired to reduce paper cups, increase trees, and save some money?
- For coffee to go, remember to take your favorite ceramic mug to your local coffee shop
- If you're headed into
the car or any other precarious scenarios, use a sealable travel mug.
Many coffee shops give 25-50 cents off for bringing your own cup. If
you don't have one yet, check out the great selection at ReusableBags.com - If you are ready to
trailblaze, throw a nice glass jar in your bag and take it with you
wherever you go. It's great for water, coffee, and even leftovers
- For more waste reduction tips, check out Reduce.org
