Local coffee company offers ceramic mugs in place of disposable cups

Local business Mount Currie Coffee says it’s providing customers with ceramic mugs in place of throwaway cups, if customers want them.

The business has locations in Pemberton and Whistler, and has been offering ceramic mugs for sometime, while a roll out at it’s Whistler location will occur in the coming days. Owner Chris Ankey says he first got the idea from his friend, Frances Dickinson who brought the Boomerang Bag concept to Pemberton. The idea sees volunteers make cloth bags which are then left at grocery stores for customers to use in a pinch instead of plastic bags. Users are then supposed to return the bags on their next shop, hence the boomerang concept.

Dickinson suggested to Ankey that the bag concept could also be applied to mugs at his business, and donated a number of used mugs to kick off the concept.

Ankey says the idea is to get customers to think about using a travel mug and save paper cups; “its more about sparking a conversation, and having people think about it”. He says there is no obligation to bring the mugs back, but customers can if they would like too.

Hospitality company Silver Chef has announced that they are partnering with businesses across the country to offer consumers a reusable alternative to single-use coffee cups, and have partnered with Ankey’s company. Silver Chef will be supplying Mount Currie Coffee’s Whistler location with ceramic mugs to support the effort to reduce waste.

Robert Phelps, President of Silver Chef Canada, says; “This initiative, called Brewing for Sustainability is inspired by the circular economy, and designed to be self-sustaining beyond International Coffee Day, with consumers returning or replacing the ceramic cup they take.”

According to a release by Silver Chef, in Canada alone, 14 billion cups of coffee are consumed every year, with 35% of coffee consumed in single-use cups. These represent up to 35,000 tonnes of paper, made from more than 70,000 tonnes of raw wood, harvested from thousands of hectares of forest. The company states that fewer than 2% of coffee lovers use their own mugs, even if charged a fee.

Ankey says they already provide a discount of 20 cents off any beverage if you bring a travel mug, and that this new concept is to further the incentive to bring your own mug. “At the end of the day, we’re just trying to change people’s habits in a positive direction” says Ankey.