BYOC (Bring Your Own Cup)
Jul 25th, 2006 by summer
Last time I was at the Green Biz Monthly Event, I thought it was pretty cool how folks were sipping wine from corn based, biodegradable cups. It is really incredible how they look and feel so similar to plastic. It is even rumored that you can put them into your composter! I love that kind of stuff. But while talking it over with my friend Ron from Greenpeace, we both decided that the most earth friendly option is to bring our own cups.
So this time I BMOC’d. Threw a jelly jar into my purse, hopped on the bike, and made my way to the partay. Admittedly, I felt like a goober taking the cup out of my purse, but I got a significant amount of props from my green biz friends (especially bud Siel). Even some green with envy glances at my sturdy wine filled glass. So the benefits outweighed the gooberish feelings, plus I got to support my buddy Anna’s Bring Your Own cause.
Still wishy washy about BYOC? Here are some perks:
Perk #1: Conversation Starter
Cute person of your preferred gender: “Dude, where’d you get the glass, I want one.”
You: “Well, person of my dreams, I brought it myself.”
CPOYPG: “From home? Why would you do that?”
You: “Well, I’m trying to reject the disposable culture that is bringing mother earth down to her knees. I think it’s easy and better for the environment to reuse things rather than throwing them out.”
CPOYPG: “But plastic is recyclable, I’m going to recycle this cup.”
You: “Hey recycling is totally hot, and great for the planet. While you should definitely recycle your cup, plastic can really only be downcycled. It won’t make another cup like the one you are holding and it uses a lot of energy. Plus, if we can use regular cups then why not?”
CPOYPG: “You are really clever. Wanna go out sometime?”
Perk #2: Get more class with glass. Drinking from a nice glass is even more refined than picking up the most earth friendly disposable.
Perk #3: Bigger portions of your favorite beverage.
Perk #4: No need to hunt for the recycle bin. Shake excess liquid, and gently toss it into your purse or pack.
You rock!
[...] Summer and I biked to the Meditrina Caf?¬© in Venice — Summer with her own glass in tow! (left, pic from her blog) [...]
Rock on Summer, way to challenge even the greenies to think outside the cup! Love your post, very clever imaginary conversation…..
I loved this post. I thought of you during my failed BYOB experience yesterday. Wanted to send you the link to the post: http://www.greenermiami.com/greenermiami/2006/08/yesterdays_trip.html
Thought you could appreciate it. I tried!
Hey thanks guys- will work for praise! Great post Rebecca, if nothing else, you definitely got her thinking twice about the bagging situation….
[...] Fourth — No need to stop at coffee! Check out Summer’s post about taking her own glass mug for her vino – [...]
[...] The reworked jeans debuted at the green biz event where I chatted it up with the usual suspects, Barent from Grow Design, Ferris from Greenopia, Damien from Treehugger TV (check out his latest), and Elizabeth from Herman Miller. A little BYOC update - the organizers ditched the disposables and provided us with real wine glasses. Sweet. [...]
Hi - Since getting a job in London and having to commute on the train daily - I’ve been taking my own cup on the train - I couldn’t stand the thought of my ‘hectic always running late and in a hurry’ lifestyle having such a negative imapct on the environment (1 dispoable cup per day x 5 days per week x 48 weeks per year = 240 disposable cups!!!!) - I love to have a coffee on the train and feel much happier to drink it from my own cup (it makes the journey a little more bearable) - Coffee Kiosk staff are very happy to let me use my own cup and Starbucks (I know…Starbucks!!!!) give me a 10% discount for using my own cup - a very surprising initiaitve i thought. I’m launching a BYOC scheme in all the offices where i work as a waste min officer and would welcome any stats or facts that you may be able to provide me with. Thanks…xxxxxxxx
What’s so great about the Bring Your Own movement is that it is one small step that anyone can do to reduce global warming. A lot of people reject the whole idea of being green because it takes some effort. A LOT of people go to Starbucks and by taking this small step (bringing their own cup) it may lead to a lifetime of green decisions for them.
I’ve been collecting links and articles about the BYO phenomenon at: http://www.bringyourowncup.com and http://www.greenstarbucks.com. Check it out.
Cool Aaron. Thanks for letting me know! Janey, looks like Aaron is your person for BYOC facts!
[...] My favorite part about the section (besides the BTC shout out), was the Glamour office experiment… they had their staff save all of the water bottles for 10 days. The result? A ceiling high wall of plastic bottles. Time to BYOC! [...]
[...] where you know the only option’ll be those big ugly red plastic cups, take your own glass! Summer tried this for a Green Business Networking event to great success. This trick works best when it’s a [...]