An ode to my travel mug

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.