Sunday, November 9, 2008

The Bring Your Own Mug Challenge

Presented by Brooklyn Green Team in partnership with GreenEdge Collaborative NYC

THE BRING YOUR OWN MUG CHALLENGE!

"Why did they even buy me? I sit here on a dark crowded shelf day after day. And then...for a moment, I think my life is going to change. They open the cabinet, our eyes meet. Their gentle hand grazes against my aluminum body. At last! Today is the day they are going to proudly walk me down the street as I carefully hold and keep warm a most precious commodity - the morning coffee. But no, they move right past me and reach for the cereal box."
- Your travel mug, 2008

Does your travel mug feel this way? Neglected? Passed over for a wasteful, disposable, one-time-only, headed for the landfill paper cup? Don't let this happen.

THE FACTS: CAN YOU SWIG IT?
Today, there is no way to compost or recycle the billions of disposable coffee cups used in the U.S. each year. That's because cups are lined with a petroleum-based plastic (polyethylene) to prevent leaking.

Most disposable coffee cups have a life of only 5 minutes before they are tossed in the trash.

In a single week, the average coffee joint goes through 4,000 cups and plastic lids!

Every year, Americans drink more than 100 billion cups of coffee. Of those, 14.4 billion are served in disposable paper cups-enough to wrap the earth 55 times if placed end-to-end!

SOLUTIONS
Use a travel mug. Often made of stainless steel, they keep your liquid hotter longer than a disposable cup.

Encourage stores to offer a discount for bringing your own and patronage those who already do.

If you buy coffee five days a week, with your travel mug instead, you could save 260 cups from the landfill!

SIGN UP email brooklyngreen@gmail.com and write BRING MY OWN! include first and last name and zipcode

Thank you Recycline! Thank you EPA Watersense! Thank you Environmental Defense Fund! Thank you Blue Marble Ice Cream! Thank you VivaTerra! Thank you Lion in the Sun! Thank you Camilla Boutique!

POW. YOU'VE BEEN GREENED!