Hello all!
Sorry I was away for so long - been in nomadic mode for the past 2 months, with lots of moving in and out - had the internet, but my brain wasn't available to sit down and write.

During these travelling times, I lived out of a suitcase, which I enjoy because it makes me realize how easily I can live without some items, and which objects are absolutely necessary (more on this later).

Also, there was a lot of working in coffee shops.
Being the being that I am, naturally I always try to ask loud and clear for drinks FOR HERE, IN A REAL MUG, IN A REAL CERAMIC MUG PLEASE, several times if necessary. Sometimes I'll ask them to put fruit juice into mugs, if they don't have real glasses made of glass.

Some might argue that real mugs take water & electricity to wash and dry. Sure enough - actually if anyone has studies and numbers to forward me I am very interested in this issue.

The way I think of disposable cups is the following:
- plastic cups take hundreds of years to decompose & are a product of the fossil fuel industry, which I do not wish to support.

- the majority of "paper" cup are lined with polyethylene (PE), also petroleum based, which prevents both composting and recycling [scary to think that very hot drinks are being poured directly in contact with PE before being drunk(?) by us]. Also, paper cups rarely travel without a brand new sleeve of corrugated cardboard, a lid made of plastic (usually #6 = Polystyrene or #7= Other), and/or a stupid straw (#5 = Polypropylene PP)

- "compostable" cups (made from plants, etc) will compost only if they are thrown on a compost pile; good luck with that. I live in a pretty progressive town and composting is still far from being a common sight, especially at the city level. If these cups end up in the regular bin, they'll take as much space as the regular plastic ones (most people, me included, do not always crush), which is a burden on the public waste management system, which is paid for with public (our) money.

- the more we say NO loudly , i.e. express our refusal as customers to be part of the problem, the more companies will have to take our opinion into account, because these material choices will start impacting their own logistics.

- ceramic mugs / glasses can last centuries (millenia!) if properly taken care of.

- getting a drink and producing zero waste is a wonderful feeling.

I try to go to independent local coffee shops instead of (inter)national chains, to encourage local businesses and economies. But it's also important to talk about the big chains, for when they make little moves their impact is huge. So, because Starbucks is the largest coffee house company in the world and because their employee benefits are not bad, I want to end with this tip for Starbucks customers:

Starbucks has amazing mugs.
Large, comfy, beautifully shaped ceramic mugs.
All you need to do is ask for them.

Take care!
++

ps: the interesting context that made me go to Starbucks in the past few weeks (I used to never go), is the gentrification of my neighborhood - yet another problem. Basically, the closest independent coffee shop increased their prices all of a sudden, becoming more expensive (!!), & with no info on how they compensate their employees.

pps: the one problem with the Starbucks mugs is that most of them seem manufactured in China. Making / buying local mugs is not difficult, and I wish there was a push in that direction.

ppps: I am not endorsed by any company. noooo.

the gift of trash

 photo by Ryan Hyde

This type of situation has been happening to me a few times now and shows how FAR FAR AWAY from societal awareness we are when it comes to wasteful habits:

I was eating at a burrito chain, sitting inside the restaurant after having carefully chosen the meal that came in a paper plate only, using my own metal cutlery and fabric napkin. Realizing I had forgotten to take tortilla, I returned to the counter and asked for a single tortilla. The behind-the-counter lady threw one on the grill for re-heat, and then proceeded to grab a piece of aluminum foil to wrap it.

Swiftly I interfered and told her that I didn't need the aluminum, since I was sitting a few feet away and would eat it right away anyhow. She stopped mid-way with a question-mark look, when a behind-the-counter guy who had overheard me came forward, grabbed the tortilla and asked: 'you don't want aluminum?' I repeated 'No, I don't need it, I am going to eat it right away'. Looking at me straight in the eye, he took the tortilla, pulled out the aluminum foil, and proceeded to wrap it very intently, saying 'no, no I will wrap it for you'. He then triomphantly handed me the tortilla doubly wrapped in aluminum and paper, with a big smile on his face. During this gesture in slow motion I was caught between incredulity - at how somebody could disregard so blatantly a request I had expressed 2 or 3 times clearly - and how absurd it was, that they were thinking they were doing me a big generous favor by handing me a totally unecessary piece of one of the most polluting metals on earth.

(enter this graph, created from data found on greenspec:)

EMBODIED ENERGY OF MATERIALS

See that lonely point floating up high, waaay above all other materials? - yep, that's aluminum. and yes, this is including recycled aluminum)

I also remember the flight attendant who pushed new plastic glasses on me as I was saying I could perfectly well continue using the one I already had, 'oh but darling we have plenty here, let me give you a new one.' Oh thank you madam for your great generosity. I love plastic so much, you're making my day.

The sad thing is, these people were really trying to be nice. They were really expressing care in over-wrapping or providing something for me. And the awful fact is, our current material situation forces them to apply this ancient, timeless show of human kindness to very unhealthy objects.

Seriously. I'd rather eat cold tortilla.