On the way to the coffeehouse I noticed a woman collecting cans and bottles from a trashcan and she was putting them into a Victoria’s Secret bag she was carrying. I suppose that makes recycling sexy.
Coffeehouse observation No. 252 – Greening coffee from field to coffeehouses
[I was scanning the job postings hosted by www.treehugger.com when I spotted several blog postings about greening coffee production and coffeehouses. Here are links to those posts. – KM]
Green Suggestions for coffee shops | www.treehugger.com
How to go green: Coffee and tea | planetgreen.com
Birch Coffee: A sustainable community hangout | www.treehugger.com
Growing oyster mushrooms in coffee grounds | www.treehugger.com
Starbucks shareholders reject recycling initiative | www.treehugger.com
Interview: Tony Gale, corporate architect at Starbucks | www.treehugger.com
Green mood lighting for Starbucks! Switching 8,000 Stores to LEDs | www.treehugger.com
Starbucks’ farmers discuss the impact of fair trade | www.treehugger.com
Starbucks tests how coffee cups fare in NYC’s recycling stream | GreenBiz.com
[I like small coffeehouses over the chain places, but this story about Starbucks on GreenBiz.com is worth spreading around. Below are the first couple of paragraphs and a link to the rest of the story. – KM]
OAKLAND, CA — Starbucks is using New York City as a testing ground for recycling its ubiquitous coffee cups. If successful, it could mean the 3 billion cups it uses each year could go to recycling bins instead of landfills.
During a nine-week test, which started in mid-September and runs through November, 86 Starbucks locations in New York City will provide in-store recycling bins for cups and send them off to be recycled.
“We are testing the capability of the infrastructure to handle and accept our cups in the system,” said Jim Hanna, Starbucks’ director of environmental impact. Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) has a self-imposed goal to only provide reusable or recyclable cups by 2015.
Click to read the rest of the story by Jonathan Bardelline on GreenBiz.com
Coffee giant Starbucks tackles green goals except one: Recycling | GreenBiz.com
SEATTLE, WA — From buying green power to reducing the amount of water it uses, Starbucks is on track to meet the majority of its long-term environmental goals, the coffee giant said Monday.
Starbucks made gains in green building, water and energy use, ethical sourcing and helping farmers reduce deforestation, the company said in its 2009 Global Responsibility Report. It lagged, however, in one high-profile area: recycling.
The company rated its progress on three recycling goals as “Needs improvement.” The goals involve developing a comprehensive recyclable cup by 2012, implementing front-of-store recycling in company-owned stores, and serving a quarter of beverage made in-store in reusable vessels, both by 2015.
“One of the significant challenges we’re facing is a wide variance in municipal recycling capabilities,” Starbucks said in the report. “This inconsistency makes it difficult for a company like ours, with more than 16,000 retail locations around the globe, to efficiently and effectively implement a recycling strategy.”
Click on the link for the rest of the story on GreenBiz.com.
Oakland’s Peerless Coffee brews more efficient waste management | GreenerDesign.com
[Here's a link to a GreenerDesign.com story from last week. It is about two things dear to me, coffee and the environment. -- KM]
Peerless Coffee Brews More Efficient Waste Management | GreenerDesign.com
