Why you should bring a reusable cup to campus

As a uni student, I’d say coffee is a necessity. Looking at the long lines at Tim Hortons and Starbucks every day, I can’t imagine how much plastic and paper cups are being used up daily. Bringing your own cup to campus might seem like a small thing, but it’s actually a big win—for you and the environment. Plus, there are some sweet perks! If you’re not already on board, here’s why you should start packing your reusable cup for your next coffee run:

1. Score discounts on your daily coffee fix

Who doesn’t love saving money? All campus cafes give you a discount just for bringing your own cup. That means you get your caffeine fix and save a little cash simultaneously. Our campus offers us a 25-cent discount for drinks purchased with your reusable cup. You can also get a free drink on your tenth use of your own cup. Over the semester, those discounts can really add up—think of all the extra snacks you can buy with the savings! 

Here's a list of participating locations: 

• Première Moisson - FSS
• Tim Hortons - UCU
• Tim Hortons - CRX
• Tim Hortons - STE
• Elements - RGN
• Starbucks - DMS
• Go Café - LMX
• Go Café - TBT
• Go Café - FTX
  
  

2. Help campus sustainability initiatives

You’ve probably heard about some cool sustainability programs on campus, like the Friendlier program. It’s basically when you pay for the food, you also get charged for the reusable containers, and when you return them, you can deposit the money back. Our campus continuing with the effort to popularize this program, and It’s all about using reusable containers to cut down on single-use packaging. By bringing a reusable cup, you join in on these efforts to reduce waste and keep our campus green. The goal is to move towards zero waste; every little bit helps—your cup included.

3. Taking responsibility

Although our campus has many recycling station spots in our café, many people still cannot sort the waste properly, which can lead to contamination, reducing the effectiveness of recycling and causing more waste to end up in landfills. Sometimes our campus cleaners have to sort them out manually and that’s time-consuming and causes many inconveniences for them--because it’s not their responsibility. But if we bring our own cup, we can reduce this thing happening.

4. Reduce your carbon footprint
Those single-use cups we grab for coffee are often lined with plastic and end up sitting in landfills forever. By switching to a reusable cup, you’re helping reduce that waste. Less trash = a healthier planet. Plus, it just feels good knowing you’re doing your part to cut down on unnecessary waste!

~ christina ye, green rep student