Light and Sweet

It’s part of most of our lives and daily routines. Our country has a love affair with coffee and although we all know should probably cut back on our caffeine intake, there is something more important about our java addiction that we should all be aware of (tea drinkers should pay attention, too…).

Consider the effect that drinking your daily coffee, tea or latte out of disposable containers has on our environment. It is estimated that each caffeine junkie produces 22.75 pounds of waste each year. That’s just in coffee cups. If I do the math correctly that is around 25 billion paper or non-biodegradable Styrofoam cups that will most likely end up in landfills, untouched for years to come.

I am guilty. The world seems like a better place when I’m drinking a hot cup of “light and sweet” Dunkin Donuts coffee. The creaminess and sweetness is just right and it seems to make my troubles melt away. Although the happy looking, white Styrofoam cup with the bright orange and pink logo seems great for an instant fix, I can’t live with the guilt of adding to the problem.

I heard that companies like Starbucks are taking initiatives for the environment (and the wallet) by offering patrons a small discount if they provide their own reusable tumblers. I decided to hit the streets of Chester County to see for myself. Here are my findings. I started with my favorite.

Dunkin Donuts
Locations available at www.dunkindonuts.com

The Dunkin Donuts employees on Market Street in West Chester are very sweet and they didn’t blink an eye when I handed them my silver tumbler. They sell reusable containers for both iced and hot coffee, and encourage customers to use them by offering a size increase for the price of the smaller portion. In other words—you pay for a 20 oz but you get a 25 oz. and so on. Plus, the day you buy a container you get your drink for free. But you have to ask!

Wa Wa
Locations available at www.wawa.com

WaWa and their recent campaign encouraging their customers to “Get Caught with the New WaWa Cup” has not been very helpful to cut down on waste. Although their marketing department would love for you to use a disposable cup each time you fill up on coffee, they do offer a discount for using a personal tumbler. They take about 10 cents off each cup and welcome their customers to do so. They have an amazing selection of coffees to choose from…enjoy!

Fennario Coffee & Tobacco
111 N Church St, West Chester, PA 19380

This local spot is home to a young eclectic group of clientele, which may explain why they have the most wallet-friendly deal for using your own container for coffee. They offer $0.25 off all sizes when you do not use disposable cups. They proudly state that they also offer organic, fair-trade coffee and they recycle. Stop in to check out their great selections of environmentally friendly options.

Starbucks
Locations available at www.starbucks.com

As I had heard, Starbucks has what they call “The Commuter Mug Discount.” Customers who use their own mugs receive a $0.10 discount. In 2003, customers used commuter mugs more than 13.5 million times, keeping an estimated 586,800 pounds of paper from landfills.

While I hit the streets to do the previous research with my coffee cup, I found myself spreading the word about this rarely thought about problem. And although there have been a few times where I’ve been stuck without a reusable cup and unwilling to buy another coffee mug, I’ve done my best to be prepared. I’ve made sure that I have one in my purse, at work and in my car. So do the same…with so many choices of tumblers and coffee mugs available I should hope that Chester County coffee drinkers and providers will soon become accustomed to refilling the cups instead of tossing them out!

Reality Check: Do the math yourself by visiting http://dzignism.com/projects/coffee.waste/. Use the coffee cup calculator to see how your personal coffee habits contribute to the waste problem.