It’s Waste Reduction Week, and in Kamloops they want to make things a little more green.
The Kamloops Central Business Association (KCBIA) is asking people to take the pledge to use their own coffee mugs, instead of opting for disposable ones every day.
Using 2011 figures, CAP Team Supervisor Alexis Proulx says if Downtown Kamloops residents bought a coffee a day for a year, they would create over 145 thousand pounds of waste in coffee cups alone.
“It’s a problem everywhere, and it’s one of the easiest things for us to fix,” said Proulx. “Just bring your own mug, and the problem helps itself.”
“If we start now, and we are sustainable, future generations learn to pick that up too.”
The KCBIA has partnered up with the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, and they’re asking residents to take the pledge this week.
Another problem, Proulx noted, is people not recycling their disposable cups once they’re done.
“It’s easier to throw things out sometimes, but you won’t do that if you have your own mug,” she noted.
“A lot of people don’t realize that the entire cup is recyclable – you can put the lid, the sleeve, and the cup itself into the recycling bin. There’s a lot of misconception about that.”