The idea of bringing your own mug or tumbler isn’t new or radical, but Seven Coffee Roasters Market & Cafe in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle is approaching the sustainability of single-use food and beverage packaging in a different way. While most coffee shops will offer discounts to those who bring their own mug, Seven is separating the cost of the drink from the cost of the packaging, pricing their compostable, disposable cups at 10 cents each.
Just like grocery stores charge extra for paper bags, the surcharge encourages customers to make permanent changes to their behavior. As I sit with my mug of steaming mocha and survey the growing line, I see multiple people with colorful HydroFlasks and even one person holding a Luke’s Diner mug, a nod to the infamous coffee shop on Gilmore Girls.
The change has even allowed them to create a fund dedicated to creating a greener community and is part of a larger mission to become Seattle’s first zero waste cafe, a goal Seven is well on their way to achieving.
Since the cafe began tracking their waste output in January, it has reported that 48% of customers are bringing in their own cups and diverted 95% of its waste from landfills. In order for a business to be considered “zero waste,” at least 90% of their waste must be diverted from landfills and incinerators.
Retail manager Seri Ann Thompson explained that simple changes like a new waste sorting station, eliminating cling wrap and creating a greener condiment bar using refillable sugar containers and compostable stirrers made a large impact on reducing waste. The cafe also requested that food vendors, like Honest Biscuits and Macrina, send pastries in reusable plastic bins in an exchange program to completely eliminate packaging waste.