Starbucks Needs To Stop Distributing Two Cups Per Visit

I love coffee shops. For those that know me personally, this is far from a huge secret. I will spend hours in a coffee shop reading and catching up on work that I would otherwise never do in my own apartment.

I think it is the relaxed atmosphere that attracts me to coffee shops...and the coffee, I like coffee.

However, the thing that I still can't wrap my head around is constant waste of paper cups. I wrote on this topic back in November as many of you will remember, and today I have developed yet another complaint about the paper cup system.

Starbucks seems to love serving their coffee in not one, but two paper cups stacked on one another. By stacking two cups on top of one another, they have created a small space of air between the two cups allowing the coffee to stay warmer longer. This is essentially the same result you get from putting plastic wrap over your windows during the winter to keep the heat from being lost as quickly.

If your only concern is that your coffee needs to be warm, then this is a fine solution. I have even mocked up a plan below that will allow Starbucks to have the WARMEST COFFEE EVER.

I'm a photoshop expert.

9 cups. Boom! I think this system actually allows the coffee to get hotter as it just sits there.

In all seriousness, if you're looking to have your coffee stay hot as long as possible, then I guess stacking cups is fine. However, because most people fail to recycle their cup(s) after finishing their coffee, the stacked-cup system is essentially doubling the waste that Starbucks is generating.

An alternative solution to keeping your drink hot for as long as possible is to get a personal mug. Many of them are made out of materials that can retain heat much longer than paper ever could and the repeated use you get out of them is "greener" than constantly using paper cups.

A Sustainable Holiday: Gift Giving

The holiday season is officially here, which means that most everyone will be buying one another gifts to be hastily unwrapped and enjoyed.

The gifts are great.

The togetherness is great.

The wasted paper? Not so much.

One solution to all this waste is by wrapping your presents in reusable bags.  One of my friends posted a link to BAGGU, a company that sells reusable bags that can be used in any sort of situation. Clearly there are other places you can buy these bags, and many outlet stores already distribute reusable bags, such as Urban Outfitters.

You can then decorate these bags with ribbons and tissue paper.  By using tissue paper, it seems like you are defeating the purpose of abandoning wrapping paper, but this is still better because you are giving someone bags that they can use again and again.

Granted, not everything can be fit into a bag, such as the Tesla Roadster I have been asking for every year, but this is still a good step in the right direction.