This October, SWACO is brewing up something special for central Ohio residents with the launch of Cuptober Fest, a waste reduction and reuse promotion that combines sustainability with the purchase of any non-alcoholic beverage at participating locations. From October 6-10, customers at five select local coffee shop locations can save $1.00 off their favorite hot or cold beverage simply by opting for a reusable cup and mentioning ‘Choose to Reuse’ when they order.
Cuptober Fest is aimed at helping residents reduce waste from single-use coffee cups and incorporate reuse into everyday activities. The promotion is being supported in part by SWACO’s Choose to Reuse initiative. Customers can receive up to $5.00 off their drink orders each day during the 5-day promotion.
“Choose to Reuse is about bringing our community together around sustainable practices that benefit everyone and activities like Cuptober Fest make it easier for residents to participate, ” said SWACO Executive Director Joe Lombardi. “We’re optimistic that by incentivizing this reuse activity, residents will see just how easy it is to switch to low waste behaviors, and they’ll stick to these new habits far beyond this promotion.’
Even though plastic and paper coffee cups are accepted for recycling in Franklin County, waste reduction and reuse activities reduce energy consumption and pollution, in addition to conserving natural resources and reducing reliance on the landfill making them the preferred environmental choice. Reusable coffee cups have the bonus of keeping coffee warmer (or colder for iced drinks) longer compared to the single-use counterpart.
Discounted drinks can be purchased at these 5 participating coffee shop locations:
- Black Kahawa (2 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215)
- Coffee Connections of Hilliard (4004 Main St, Hilliard, OH 43026)
- Kitties Cakes at all three locations: Bexley (2424 E. Main St., Bexley, Ohio 43209), German Village (495 S. 3rd St., German Village, Ohio 43215) and Worthington (693 High St., Worthington, Ohio 43085).
“At Black Kahawa, we believe sustainability starts with small, daily actions like choosing to reuse. We’re proud to be part of Cuptober Fest and excited to encourage our customers to reduce waste and embrace reuse as a way of life,” said Black Kahawa owner Douglas Buckley.
Coffee shops participating in Cuptober are also part of the Central Ohio Reuse Coalition (CORC) Coffee Cup Reuse program that provides reusable Okapi cups to customers.
Customers who do not bring in a personal reusable cup and wish to participate in Cuptober Fest, will have the ability to enroll in the CORC Coffee Cup Reuse program to receive the limited-time drink discount.
According to CORC website, “half-million single-use coffee cups discarded in Columbus every day.” Residents interested in reducing waste beyond Cuptober Fest, are encouraged to sign up for the CORC program.
For more information about SWACO’s Choose to Reuse initiative, visit www.swaco.org/Choose2Reuse.
