More Coffee, Less Waste

But first, coffee.....

Did you know that coffee is the most consumed beverage by Canadian adults? 

As a nation, we fall just behind Finland and the Netherlands as the world's top coffee consumers globally.  

Our nation's love of coffee and our "grab-and-go" lifestyle means that 35% of all coffee sold in Canada is consumed as "to-go" beverages, most served in single-use coffee cups.   

Did you know that a single-use coffee cup is made with plastic? The polyethylene plastic used to line the cup allows it to hold hot beverages without leaking. Due to this thin plastic layer, these cups are essentially designed to be destined for the landfill, as recycling single-use coffee cups is a real challenge. 

In the City of Guelph, single-use coffee cups are not recyclable and must be placed in the landfill garbage. Unfortunately, many are often incorrectly placed in the recycling bin, which can cause the recycling to become contaminated and, if the contamination rate is high enough, rejected and sent to landfill.  

According to the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-Up, single-use coffee cups are among Canada's ten most commonly found litter items.  
 
When single-use coffee cups are discarded as litter, the paper exterior will break down over time, leaving behind the thin polyethylene plastic layer of the cup, which ultimately results in plastic pollution entering the environment and waterways near where the cup was discarded.  
  

More Coffee, Less Waste 

We see our national love of coffee and tea through the number of beverage purchases across campus at the University of Guelph, especially during mid-terms and final exam seasons.  
 
As a campus community of students, staff, and faculty, which requires "grab and go" options for hot beverages, we've created several sustainability incentives to encourage people to use reusable mugs to help reduce the use of single-use coffee cups on campus.  
 

These sustainability incentives include our reusable mug-use promotion, where if you use a reusable mug on campus, you'll only be charged the price of a small beverage.  
 
For regular coffee or tea consumers, this can save you money, help reduce waste, and get you even more coffee as you can fill your mug with more for less.  
 

In addition to the financial savings, you'll also be able to take part in filling out our beverage loyalty cards when purchasing a beverage in a reusable mug. When purchasing your drink, the cashier will give you a stamp on your loyalty. Once that card is completed, you can submit it to the cashier with your contact information to be entered into a monthly raffle.  
 
With this monthly raffle, you'll have a chance to win a $25 Hospitality Services gift card, and your name will be displayed on a printed poster in the dining hall where you redeemed your coupon as the winner for the month.