BYOC (Bring Your Own Cups)

Thats right, Bring your own cups! A very unnecessary and large portion of our garbage includes disposable coffee and drink cups. After the holidays we’re all getting back into the groove of things which often means for most people going to that coffee shop drive through before work and picking up your coffee, tea, etc. in those darn disposable cups.

Though a few companies have claimed over the years to have made them more easily recyclable this is just not the case for the most part– often these paper cups come with hidden plastic linings on the inside making it impossible to recycle as well as the toppers for the cups are often unrecyclable– so even if the cups do wind up in the recycling they are often diverted to landfills. CBC marketplace did an interesting experiment to see exactly where the cups from certain chains that claim to be recycling really end up, all of which wound up in the garbage along with many other recyclable products.

So what can we do to help? BYOC, bring your own cup– whether it be a drink cup for smoothies/cold drinks or a thermos, mug, or coffee cup for coffee/tea, it’s just that simple. Most places will gladly oblige and fill those cups for you, and if they don’t there’s always the option to speak to management about it or vote with your dollars and go to one of the many other places in town that would love to have your business. If you are insecure  about bringing your own cup or just wanting to go even further another great often healthier and cheaper option is to simply just make your own coffee/tea/smoothies/etc. at home.

Why Zero Waste? What is Zero Waste?

For the past 6-7 months or so I’ve been a real admirer and active follower of the zero waste lifestyle. For those of you that don’t know what zero waste involves allow me to show you the 5 Rs that most “zero wasters” live by (from the great Bea Johnson’s book, Zero Waste Home)

1. Refuse- refuse unnecessary disposable items, for example single use plastics (coffee cups, grocery bags, straws and much more), junk mail, receipts, etc.

2. Reduce- reduce the amount of consumption of things such as the amount of packaged goods you buy(do those oranges really need to be put in plastic bags?), window shopping, the amount of an item you buy (do you need to have a backup or multiple backups of things? I asked myself this when I looked through my medicine cabinet and found that I had 7 backup body mists)

3. Reuse- Use things that can be reused for example I keep my empty containers that my grocery/etc. items come in– it makes for free storage containers, as well as use things until they’re eventually no longer usable, and if something can be fixed then fix it (like clothing, electronics, etc.)

4. Recycle- Anything that can be recycled according to our local recycling program– recycle it! Also, there are lots of places in town that allow us to recycle things that aren’t on the list (electronics, batteries, soft plastics, etc.)

5. Rot- Compost! Compost! Compost! Brandon has a great green bin program that allows you to compost many things if you don’t have a garden. Compost any food items you can, i keep my little compost container in my freezer to reduce the smell and that way it’s right there in the kitchen available for me to dump my scraps into.

Some of the many benefits to a zero waste lifestyle include helping you to “vote” with your dollars by supporting more eco-conscious companies, could lead to a more minimalist atmosphere in your house (being more aware of/making less purchases means less things stored away or adding clutter to your home), helps to support a more healthy lifestyle (less packaging often means less processed food/items which means more fresh foods, etc.), and lastly just an overall satisfying feeling that you are making a difference.

For those of you interested– the book Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson is a great resource for someone just starting out and provides far more insight and information on exactly why and how we can go about this lifestyle.