Rethinking that coffee drinking

Welcome to the Green Ideas small steps page – a place for anyone who’s felt that their small green deeds are just a drop in the ocean. Every issue we set a simple eco-challenge for our readers and the Green Ideas staff, who then share their experience by emailing the editor or making a post on www.greenideas.co.nz/smallsteps.

Each issue we publish a selection of your responses, and work out what effect your efforts would have made if the whole country had joined in. Last month we asked readers to try taking a reusable cup to the café instead of using throwaway coffee cups, or avoiding buying new water bottles. Here’s what some of our readers (and staff) had to say.

Annabel, Green Ideas reader

“I love the idea of doing an eco challenge. I don’t buy water bottles, but drink lots of coffee (and hot chocolates). I didn’t remember my cup every time, but made an effort.”

Waste saved: nine coffee cups

Carlee, Green Ideas national sales manager

“Really enjoyed this challenge. Made me a lot more conscious about how many coffees I drink and how I drink them. I did use the cup, but when I left it at home/work, instead of forfeiting I would sit down and enjoy my coffee for the 10 minutes it took to drink it. This was instead of the normal process of sucking it back while powering down the road. As for the water bottle challenge… easy. I bought a reusable one which I ended up circulating with my usual plastic ones for a while, and when those started to smell bad I popped them in the recycling and stuck with my reusable bottle.”

Waste saved: eight coffee cups and two water bottles

David, Green Ideas reader

“I have a water bottle, but always forget to take it, so this challenge just helped me try harder for a fortnight. I reckon it stopped me buying water at least once, plus I used it as a way to not buy sugary drinks at work which I definitely don’t need. All up, six bottles.”

The numbers

On average, people taking the Small Steps challenge saved six coffee cups and two plastic bottles from being disposed of. That’s 156 coffee cups and 52 bottles each per year

If a million New Zealanders made the same small step it would save:

• 100 tonnes of plastic lids for cups
• 600 tonnes of paper waste to landfill
• 1200 tonnes of plastic bottles

Take our new challenge

This month we’re asking Green Ideas readers to try to cut some waste out of their weekly grocery shop by buying in bulk where possible. Keen to take the challenge? After your grocery run tell us how many pre-packed items you avoided by emailing [email protected] with ‘small steps’ in the subject line, or by going to www.greenideas.co.nz and clicking ‘small steps’.

Take a Green Ideas small step

Step 1 Try buying some of your groceries in bulk.

Step 2 Work out how many prepacked items you didn’t need.

Step 3 Tell us how much packaging you reckon you saved by emailing [email protected] with ‘small steps’ in the subject line, or by going clicking ‘small steps’.