It’s the start of fall, which means it’s the start of pumpkin spice latte season at Starbucks and the time of year when disposable coffee cups are an accessory to nearly every outfit — and landfill.

Disposable cups come at a bigger cost than the nearly $6 latte inside. According to its 2016 Global Social Impact Performance report, Starbucks produced 4 billion cups last year — most of which likely ended up in landfills — and there’s no telling how many cups from other coffee shops get tossed out, too.

Reusable cups provide an environmentally friendly, cost-effective alternative to those wasteful paper cups. But not enough coffee drinkers are taking advantage of this sustainable option, and not enough companies are encouraging it.

Global companies like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts have a lot of influence in the number of disposable cups that end up in landfills. These corporations should make more of an effort to incentivize their customers to use reusable cups — a task that is often championed by small businesses. Local cafes seem to do more to combat the waste problem associated with disposable cups, and some stops in the Syracuse University area offer better deals for bringing in reusable coffee cups.

The average American drinks about 3 cups of coffee daily, according to research conducted by Harvard University. That’s 1,095 disposable cups per year that could be spared if they were reusable.

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But there are still obstacles when it comes to converting the SU campus into a reusable cup haven. First, it’s a matter of convenience. Most college students would rather get a disposable cup they can toss instead of wash.

Schools in the United States are trying to incentivize students to use reusable coffee cups, and many of them have had success. The University of Connecticut started a program last year that offered an average discount of 40 percent on beverages if students brought in a reusable coffee cup. The program was widely successful, with 31,000 students participating in 2016 and saving just as many coffee cups from going into landfills.

SU has a similar program called Mug Club, which offers a 20-percent discount to customers who use mugs in SU Food Services cafes. The program cuts back on the usage of disposable cups, but it is not sufficiently advertised. Strengthened advertising could make mugs more common sights on campus than white disposable cups.

Apart from this underutilized program, there are still incentives for using a reusable coffee cup around campus. Both Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts have their own ways to combat the heaps of disposable cups that end in landfills.

Starbucks offers customers a 10-cent discount for bringing reusable cups into its stores. Despite this program being around for years, customer participation is slim. Only 1.4 percent of customers bring in a reusable cup for their beverage, according to Starbucks’ 2016 report.

This statistic stands true around SU. Patrick Zimmer, an employee at the Campus West Starbucks, said he only sees “two or three reusable cups” per day.

Dunkin’ Donuts ran a program last year to reduce the amount of disposable cups used. The company offered a free reusable cup with the purchase of a medium or larger beverage, coupled with a reduced price on refills for the first quarter of 2016. This program was short-lived, though, and should be replaced with a more long-term solution.

At People’s Place Cafe, customers who bring their own mug pay $1 for hot coffee and $1.50 for iced coffee. Those who participate in this program are loyal, said Hayley Bermel, an employee at the cafe. Cafe Kubal also offers 25 cents off an order when customers bring in their own mug, said Kubal employee Hank Leboux.

While Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are the most popular locations for a hot drink around campus, students should support businesses that are more environmentally conscious. Whether they are large corporations or small businesses, more cafes should incentivize the use of reusable cups through discounts. The more cafes that run reusable cup programs, the more cups we can prevent building on landfill waste.

This PSL season, invest in a reusable tumbler or mug. If Starbucks won’t offer a sizeable discount for using it, then it’s up to us as consumers to make environmentally conscious decisions that make a substantial impact.

Allison Weis is a freshman newspaper and online journalism major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at alweis@syr.edu.

Published on September 24, 2017 at 5:52 pm