There are many things I have slowly given up over time. Diet Coke. Peanut M&Ms. High fructose corn syrup. Some have been easy to let go of, and others, well, others can haunt me and rear their ugly little addicting heads. It is still hard not to want an icy Diet Coke at the movie theater, and I will be honest: I haven’t completely kicked the M&Ms. A bowl of the colorful happiness at a party will find my hand. However, I no longer purchase these items for personal consumption.
I digress. This story was to be about my current fascination with Iced Black Tea from Starbucks and my reuse of their trenta-sized cup. I believe reuse is the best of “The Three R’s” – reduce, reuse and recycle. If you are already reducing your usage, then reusing what you do have before recycling it is the pinnacle, for me anyway.
My husband and I have been recycling in our home for over 20 years. When we bought our first “home”, our loft downtown, one of the first things we designed into the kitchen was our recycling center. I have written previous blogs about our recycling commitment at home, my business has a full page on our website dedicated to our Green Policies, and – again last week – my husband and I drove our recycling through seven states to be able to get it into the correct bin. I like to think our fervor makes us committed to the cause, not crazy. Fine line, I suppose.
My new love – addiction, if you must – of iced black tea is probably the caffeine. I have never been a coffee drinker, but I did consume gallons of Diet Coke for years and years. It propelled me through my career in politics and pushed me right into entrepreneurship with my sister.
A year ago, I felt like I needed a little something to jump start my day again, with Diet Coke now 10 years behind me. At first I thought it was mental – this is my response to most things bordering on addiction – and that I needed to ignore it and move along. And I did just that for years. I have always had a lifelong love of iced water – and continue to drink major amounts of it daily – but it just seemed like my taste buds and my energy system wanted more.
But how do I balance my desire to save Mother Earth by consuming less while ordering iced teas in plastic cups? Even the little #6 in the cutie triangle telling me the cup was recyclable didn’t make my use of it justified. I need to use less plastic everyday. Every. Single. Day.
Then I found out I could re-use my cup at Starbucks – and they will give you money off for doing so! – and that changed everything. I am currently reusing a cup I got four weeks ago. My promise to Starbucks and my local barista is that I will not let the cup get junky looking or stained. I rinse it constantly and wash it occasionally, and I am still reusing the original lid and straw. (I even put my own iced tea from home in it when time is of the essence.)
I have managed to find a way to manage my current addiction with my desire to be one of the people to slowly change the world.
It took me a while. But I got there.
p.s. When ordering iced black tea in the South – let’s say on vacation driving through Florida, Georgia and Tennessee – be prepared to answer the question, “Do you want it sweetened?” more than once. They really, really love their sweet tea and looked at me like the Yankee I am when my answer was repeatedly, “No thank you.”
p.s.s. You can only reuse your cup if you go to a counter at Starbucks. My advice: don’t attempt this move when they are super-swamped. I am not a “rush hour” tea drinker, so this has worked out for me really, really well.
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I’m in love with Starbucks black tea too!!!!! I was so bummed the other day, while in Canada I stood in massive long line, ordered my usual unsweetened tea and walked away with my friends, across the street and into a drinking establishment (I had to have my fix first). Stabbed the straw into the cup, took a big swig and eeeeee-gads!……it was sweetened!!!!! A lot. Yuck!!! So sad. 🙁
Sugar ruins it! And just think, you weren’t even in the American South. Travel well, friend. – sloane
Sloane – i love the recycling, and i love the battle with addictions, but why starbucks? and as one caffeine addict to another…plain old water is better, and even though the caffeine helps pick me up in the morning, it always leaves me hangin’ in the afternoon…love you -kd
Kristopher: Starbucks because my local store gives to causes I care about – AIDS Walk, the Mosaic Project, etc. When I get a hankering for a prepared iced tea, it’s where I go. I do not go to QT for drinks or to any fast food restaurant. Bella Napoli pours a good tea, when I find time to get there. None of this is a daily activity and water still ranks highest on the list and is easily consumed in my reused Starbucks cup.
I love you, too and thank you for reading our blogs. – sloane
Tree Huggin’ Hippie Freak! (Takes one to know one 🙂
Casey: It is a true thrill every week to see how little trash STUFF takes out and how much we put in the recycle bin. I know you feel the same way at home. Saving the world, one hunk of plastic at a time, is a real joy with you at my side and in a matching cape! – sloane
i bring my little waxed bags back to the health food store to get my muffins in. i got you beat on the tree huggin’ hippy freak. i also have a fork and spoon in my car, which i use in casual/take out so that i don’t have to use the plastic.
i am a freak and i believe that is how a cause starts…one nut job at a time.
so there
P. Claire – As long as you will agree that we are in competition for the planet and not with each other … – sloane
Love this – so proud when my trash is less than a third of my recycling. In the reuse category, I have Starbuck’s re-useable cup for my addiction, Decaf Americano!
I just returned from a two-week vacation with members of your family. We carted around a paper bag full of recyclable plastic for over 2500 miles. None of us could throw in the towel. Your mother said, “think of it – if every one of the 2 million visitors to the National Parks threw out just one bag of plastic – the mountain it would make would be enormous.”
I would like to fill all y’all in on a travel cup that I adore and would like to encourage some local retailer to carry a supply (hint hint) – it is the Takeya double-walled glass tumbler. It is NOT indestructible, however it keeps your drinks hot or cold AND most importantly (and I’ve bought and tested more than a few travel cups) it is easy to clean and doesn’t have any hidden recesses for milk to get stuck in to start growing into a colony of icky smelling yuckiness. It is made of glass, so it really is for consumers who understand that glass is more fragile than plastic.
Thanks Sloane for being an good example to follow in so many more ways than environmental issues. You inspire!
Lori: We are all in this together! -sloane
Panera’s iced tea is pretty darn good, too, just FYI.
NKCH gave us (employees) reusable mugs last year and we can get it refilled free in the cafeteria. I bring my lunch and use bamboo utensils that I take home and wash. Also have a reusable cloth baggie for my fresh veggies. When we lived in Texas, the wait staff would always ask”sweet or unsweet” when you ordered iced tea. Sweet was usually pronounced with at least two syllables. Europe has recycling down to a fine science but never order iced tea there, they’ll look at you as if they were considering calling the police. On the other hand, when you order hot tea, you have several choices and it comes in a teapot. P.S., we love Bella Napoli too.