Saying No to Summer Go Cups

I recycle. I pick up trash from the beach and road side. I like to think I’m a tiny part of the solution to the plasti-problem.

But I’m also part of the problem itself, because I love iced coffee.

Iced coffee to go used to mean filling a plastic cup with ice, coffee, half and half, and then topping it with a plastic lid and inserting a straw. For the past few months I’ve skipped the straw, which means removing the lid each time I want a sip. That basically eliminates sipping while underway—another of summer’s great pleasures.

It’s also hard to see how skipping the straw is going to solve the plasti-problem when I’m still walking away with a single-use plastic cup and lid—even though they almost always get recycled.

So here’s my public vow for the summer of 2017: I promise to reduce my single-use cup (plastic or paper) consumption to a maximum of one per month. (Hopefully I can eliminate them all together… but I may need a “bye” once in awhile.)

I’ve stashed a stainless mug in my car. I will stash another in my bike basket. And I will respond to all sourpuss servers with a smile when they grimace about having to handle a clunky mug.

I promise not to get preachy about this if I see you with a plastic cup. But I also welcome anyone who cares to join me in my pledge to Say No to To Go Cups this summer. It doesn’t mean giving up our favorite iced drinks… it just means a little more planning, and a small change in habits. And if that helps us toward a future with less trash for someone like me to pick up off the beach, it’s all worth it.

Will you join me?