Mat Thijssen - University of Waterloo - 24.02.2015
Hi everyone,
I was wondering if any of you have programming to try and limit use of single-serve coffee machines, like Keurigs or Tassimos, on campus? I know this will be a highly contentious issue, particularly for staff, and will require some consistent messaging and a good alternative.
I was wondering if any of you have programming to try and limit use of single-serve coffee machines, like Keurigs or Tassimos, on campus? I know this will be a highly contentious issue, particularly for staff, and will require some consistent messaging and a good alternative.
I’ve done some research on the energy intensity of the
machines versus alternatives (kettles, water coolers/heaters) and it is kind of
a wash on which is more efficient, depending on the use profile. The
easier “sell” is on the waste generated from the disposable cups, which is
staggering. So far the simplest solution is to encourage use of the
reusable cups and for staff to bring their own coffee grinds, but even that has
some pitfalls that people are quick to point out as an excuse to keep the
disposables (staff time + lots of water required to clean out the filters).
Has anyone tried implementing this or another
alternative? What messaging did you use? What strategies
have/haven’t effective?
Thanks in advance!
***
Jonathan Rausseo - University of Ottawa - 24.02.2015
Hey Mat
We don’t limit the use of the
machines. I wish we could but people get really particular about their coffee.
So we are dealing with the
management of the cups. In our Office we have a TerraCycle box for the k-cups.
We can’t force others on campus to use TerraCycle because we can’t cover the
costs.
Here is a blog post we just put
out about the whole thing.
***
Paul Henshaw - University of Windsor - 16.04.2015
I recall a conversation about reducing
coffee pod waste. See below.
Subject: University of Guelph-designed
compostable coffee pod hits shelves in fall