HuskeeCup is the newest sustainability initiative on campus, launched just last week by students from both student government and student-run coffee shops*. If you haven’t already heard, or seen the signs around CoGro or The Brew, I’m here to tell you all about it. HuskeeCup is essentially a reusable coffee cup, but its goal is to reduce waste by having “users swap a single cup”. Honestly, I am still trying to get a good understanding of how the whole program works, but after quite a bit of research, here’s what I’ve learned.
The main idea is to reduce the number of plastic cups and lids being thrown away on campus. Many people already do this, by bringing our reusable mugs when we know we’re going to be making a stop somewhere for coffee throughout the day. The program that’s being implemented by the brand HuskeeCup is called HuskeeSwap,and it wants to reduce the use of single-use plastics as much as possible. After buying one HuskeeCup, you bring it to a participating location, order your drink, and they give you back a different, clean HuskeeCup.
If you’re someone who gets attached to your coffee mug and couldn’t imagine carrying around another, perhaps this isn’t for you. Becoming a HuskeeSwap member means agreeing to swap out your cup, perhaps for a different size or colour, time and time again. If you can come to terms with that, you might feel like swapping for a different size or colour is just part of the fun!
In terms of the physical cup, based off of info from the HuskeeCup site, you could get a reusable mug in one of three sizes: 6oz, 8oz or 12oz. You can buy them in two colours, Charcoal and Natural (an off-white shade). They come with a universal lid, that fits each size, and you can even buy a saucer which is made out of the same material.
Another unique fact about HuskeeCup, is the name actually comes from its material. The reusable mug is made from repurposed coffee husks, which is a part of the coffee bean that is produced at the milling stage and becomes organic waste, so even the process of making a HuskeeCup is sustainable. Pretty awesome, right?
Until writing this article, I had heard of the HuskeeCup but I had no idea how popular it was all around the world. There are multiple HuskeeSwap locations in every continent, excluding Africa and most of North East Asia, but the map is heavily populated throughout Europe, Australia and North America. I’m so glad Queen’s U is finally getting on board!
Right now, the only participating locations in Kingston are The Brew, The Tea Room and Common Ground Coffee. So, if you’re in need of a new travel mug – or even if you’re not, join the club! Here’s to making the sustainable choice in 2020!
*Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article attributed the launch of the initiative to Queen’s University. This was printed in error. HuskeeCup is a student-run initiative that the University is not currently involved in.*
Source: Huskee