VERBATIM: by Carine Vindeirinho

Where Did All the Mugs Go?

When I first came to Vancouver 10 years ago, the way I remember it, you couldn’t find one Vancouverite without his or her personal mug. I also remember, coming from France, how uncanny it seemed, and how it fit (and still fits) the die-hard hippy cliché, so evocative of Vancouverites. Whether on campus at UBC or downtown, sailing or hiking, the said mug was ever full of water, coffee, tea or even beer (!). The mug spelled Vancouver the way a three-piece suit spelled (and still spells) Toronto.

I remember a time when, at the till, the quintessential question was ‘here or to go?’, not ‘tall or grande’, when happiness meant to savor one’s brew in a porcelain or ceramic mug, when tables were littered with empty mugs and morning editions.

Today no one asks that question anymore and Starbucks paper cups are all the rage. You’ll find them in everyone’s hands, on windowsills, near drivers’ lips, and all over the ground. The city trashcans can barely contain them. But what upsets me most is that even if customers know they’ll be sipping their coffee ‘here’ nobody bothers to ask for a mug anymore.

What happened? Is it the cost of replacing porcelain mugs (I am told that customers steal them), dishwashing expenses, or is it sheer laziness and the much simpler ways of recycling or disposing of paper cups? I also hear that those paper cups are handy, almost esthetic compared to the erstwhile Styrofoam cup, ugly and a potential health hazard. But this doesn’t, to my mind, justify the burial of the good old eco-friendly mug!

So, when will we see the personal mug’s return? In this age of recycling, environmental concern and sustainable development where is Vancouver’s eco-consciousness? If it’s a matter of personal wealth (the wallet being as always a sensitive issue) let it be known that at Starbucks a personal mug will save you a dime each time. It is Starbucks’ way to encourage it’s clientele to lessen garbage output. According to their site if you use your personal mug 13.5 million times you will have reduced paper garbage by 266 tons. A drop in the ocean of annually generated garbage no doubt, but it still will have an overall impact.

So, brace yourself Vancouver! Take you mugs out of their cupboards, dust them, wash them, recover your eco-consciousness and hang once more your mugs to your bags.