Join the Revolution
So, it's been roughly one year since my roommate became obsessed with the ominously named THE PAPER CUP ARMY. I can't really explain what happened there, it wasn't my obsession. All I know is one day I came home and my roommate had started a collection of used paper cups and was storing them in our small two bedroom basement apartment. She's an artist, so I look online and find pictures on her facebook of little cups with word bubbles.
I didn't really understand this obsession, why she was asking friends to pick up old paper cups out of the garbage and drop them off in our apartment so we could clean them. I thought perhaps the winter break had made her go crazy or some ridiculous thing. However, after a while I was digging through the trash cans and picking up a few paper cups. I would bring them home and was stoked to draw little faces on each of these cups. I didn't fully see the end product, but dude - Draw little faces on little cups or study cognitive psychology. Done and done.
She then decided, going to the somewhat liberal school that we attended, good ol' U Vic, that she would set up these little troops on campus. It was quite clever actually: she got all of our friends to contribute non-disposable travel mugs, salad dressing containers, generally sustainable packaging of sorts, and we chained them to a tree. She then had this awesome vision of little paper cups arranged all around threatening to cut down the tree. She even got a hatchet, and we drew little hands raised as though carrying the thing on specific cups. She made new word bubbles telling our little sustainable friends to hold steady, and the army to march on, etc.
Most people walked by with an interested, but kind of WTF look on their faces. People took pictures, and some even asked what was going on when we were standing around drinking our baileys and coffee.
We did another set up with paper cups climbing out of the garbage and lining up in offensive formation in front of two little super hero mugs. This time in front of the university centre. Quite a similar response. We brought them down to city hall one day, set them up and sat in the sun watching the local politicians look confused at what could only be construed as "garbage" (get out!) set up in some pattern.
My point? Paper cups (aside from select few) are not recyclable, not compostable, and generally just a waste of resources. Travel mugs cost anywhere from five to fifty dollars, and most coffee houses will offer a small discount for using your own mug. It eventually pays for itself. Imagine, instead of using the resources it takes to create one little paper cup (or styrofoam - shame) several times a day/week, you could instead use the resources it takes to make one non-disposable mug and use it ad infinitum! How ridiculously awesome is that??
I find a lot of people have a belief that a sustainable lifestyle requires a huge time and monetary effort - honestly, if you want to go all the way hardcore, then yes. Yes it does. BUT, sometimes it's as easy as using a travel mug, sharing a stir stick with a friend so you use less, bringing your compostable material home because there isn't a place to put it at work/class/whatever else you may do during the day. Ask to have your left overs wrapped up in foil that can be re-used instead of styrofoam (shame) containers. Buy a water bottle instead of buying bottled water. Unplug your laptop when you're not using it.
If you're interested in the paper cup army, the story of stuff, garbage island, or some other ecofriendly initiatives check out the paper cup army group on facebook - we have pictures! And links to other sweet things.
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