I typically
carry my travel mug with me everywhere I go. Yes, there are times when I forget
it at home (or on the subway – eeks!) and days that I’m just too lazy to go
back upstairs to grab it before I leave, but for the most part I have it with
me all the time. Today, after a gruesome 8am Calculus lecture I made my way
over to La Prep (for the first time since it was brought to UTSC) and handed
over my mug and said “coffee please” (with sheer desperation in my eyes) and
was told that they don’t accept travel mugs. Never has my travel mug been
rejected before (sure, there are times the server gives me dirty looks for
being “difficult”, but never a rejection).
Instead he used a paper cup to fill the coffee and poured it into my
travel mug, mindlessly tossing the used cup into the garbage – defeating the
entire purpose of my travel mug. I was in shock and needless to say will never
be returning to La Prep again. The boycott starts today along with a letter to
head office.
I can’t
express the irritation I feel when I see individuals lounging in coffee shops,
for hours on end, with their “to-go” cups. I’m sorry, but are you on the go?
No. You’re sitting in the coffee shop conversing with a friend, reading or on
facebook/twitter pretending to study. It’s so simple to opt for a mug over the
paper cup, or better yet, use a travel mug. It’s a small gesture that goes a
long way.
The City of Toronto estimates that more than one million single-use (non
recyclable) coffee cups are disposed of per day in the City and sent directly
to landfills. Sending such a large amount of disposable waste to landfills per
day is not sustainable. The cost of coffee cups is not obvious to
consumers because the cost of the cup is embedded in the price consumers pay
for their coffee, and individuals use multiple cups in a day without any
obvious environmental repercussions. The environmental cost of using disposable
coffee cups is in the energy and resources used for the production, the
shipping and particularly the disposal of each cup.
Coffee cups are not merely a Toronto
problem; but a western problem. Dunkinʼ Donuts
(U.S coffee shop) claims to serve one billion cups of coffee a year which is
approximately 2.7 million cups a day. Bags and bags of trash are emptied as a
multitude of people shuffle in and out for their daily caffeine injection.
Numerous corporations have built their empire off these demands and our
constant need to consume and socialize around coffee. Albeit some corporations,
such as Tim Hortons and Starbucks, provide a discount for bringing in a travel
mug thus encouraging consumers to be environmentally conscious. This incentive
benefits the store as they serve happy customers and builds loyalty.
These
cups represent the essence of our society: over-consumption and need for speed.
So next time you get an itch for that daily dose of caffeine don’t settle for
the cliché disposable cup, show you care, take your travel mug. Stand up for
the environment and consume responsibly. It’s cool to care.
