The Last (Styrofoam) Cup

Church of the Nativity’s journey toward zero waste started in earnest last winter with an almost zero waste Pancake Supper on Shrove Tuesday, the night before Lent began. That night we started the process of moving towards using reusable and compostable items only in our fellowship time, coffee hour, and special events. The only problem was that we had just placed a large order for styrofoam cups to use at Sunday morning coffee hour.

A very large order. Several hundred cups.

You see, we had a source for recycling the cups. The cups were cheap. The cups kept the coffee warm enough. (Bless the heart of anyone who tries to give an Episcopalian lukewarmish coffee on Sunday morning.) They were far from ideal, but they were what we had.

So we committed to using up what we already owned. We continued to send the cups away to be recycled. We counted down, cup by cup, until we could start using the compostable cups. 

With much rejoicing, we used the last styrofoam cup on Sunday. 

Going Zero Waste isn’t a perfect process. Changing systems to start composting doesn’t happen overnight. But we do the bit of good when we can and where we can, with the knowledge that God is there with us all along the way.

May you soon use your last styrofoam cup!