Love My Mug: a year 2020 without disposable cups

On November 5^th in the Michele Pujol Room, the Sustainability Project (UVSP)—funded by the UVic Undergraduate Student Society—officially kicked off their Love My Mug Campaign to support our 2020 vision of no more disposable cups on campus and beyond.

The Sustainability Project team showcased our ‘Muggo’ campus mascot, and students were able to get their ‘Mugshots!’ taken. We also encouraged participants to write their names on and decorate/personalize their travel thermoses so they won’t end up being orphaned or lost. The $15 dollar thermal travel mugs sold like hotcakes. We provided free materials for people to personalize their mugs: multi-colored sharpies and fair-trade stickers.

Free snacks

Who doesn’t like free snacks? But we do it a little differently. UVSP is committed to hosting ‘bring your own containers, cutlery, mugs’ events. We welcomed participants with vegan home-made black bean brownies. COBS bread generously sponsored about 60 freshly made scones and 3 loaves of bread.

The event was zero waste. There were no paper plates or any disposable cutlery. There weren’t even any tissues/napkins. We offered complimentary Level Ground Coffee brewed in a stainless percolator, organic teas, and organic tortilla chips with salsa.

You didn’t have to purchase a mug to attend. But we encouraged students to engage in conversation, and write something about why they love their mugs. There was also a door prize contest. Level Ground kindly sponsored the direct fair trade coffee, tea, and dried pineapple in their home-made upcycled coffee handbags.

Overall, we had about 52 people throughout the day, and we will continue this ongoing campaign until the tipping point arrives – the final shift. Imagine going to BibiloCafé, and having an ‘in-house’ ceramic mug, or having it in your own re-usable to-go mug. It won’t happen overnight, but this is the vision.

We can eliminate over 3,000 cups going in to the landfill every day. ‘Compostable cups’ are not any better. We need to shift off of our ‘disposable, one-time-use’ culture. It give us, consumers a choice:

• A choice to make a difference one refill at a time.
• A choice to save 25 cents for every beverage.
• A choice to stand by farmer’s rights of getting paid a fair wage, and working in safe conditions.
• A choice to empower local coffee roasters.
• A choice to influence others and share the knowledge.
• A choice to make an IMPACT! Because it’s in you and you know it.

If you believe you can, you will. The power is in your hands. Please join the movement and commit to making a difference in our community One Refill at a Time!

Love my mug: CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!

SPECIAL! If you would like to ‘Gift a mug’ to a friend, we are planning on doing secret Santa deliveries the last week of classes. Email sustainability@uvic.ca for more details.

We also have a Three MUGATEERS Christmas special (3 mugs for $40).