For me, my reusable coffee cup is symbolic of my new found sustainable lifestyle. It symbolises the beginning of my journey and reminds me every day of the big difference we can make by making a small change in our daily lives.

I love coffee – for me, it is a daily ritual. On my way to work I would always make a quick stop at my local café (who knew my order without me having to say a word) and continue on my way to work, disposable coffee cup in hand.

JOCO Glass Coffee Cup 12oz/354ml

Out and about one day, my zero-waste friend and I needed a caffeine fix. For her, the only option was to have in as she didn’t have her reusable cup with her. I was more than happy to do so, but as I enjoyed the taste of coffee I started wondering, what’s wrong with disposable coffee cups?

In case you didn’t know, disposable coffee cups are not recyclable. Inside the paper cup is a plastic lining, making it impossible to recycle the paper element of the cup. The amount of paper used to produce these also contributes to deforestation, destroying animal habitats and adding to climate change. Something crazy like 500 billion single-use disposable cups are used worldwide every year, most are sent to landfill and even worse end up in our oceans. 

Yip, it's a good coffee.

After discovering this I knew something had to change - seeing others make a conscious effort to reduce their impact on the environment inspired me to make that switch from a disposable cup to a reusable one and I have never looked back!

Reusable coffee cups are not cheap, but I quickly worked out that at my local coffee shop would discount my coffee slightly, meaning I could get a large coffee for the price of a regular one. Not only was I saving money, but my coffee now tasted even better in the knowledge that I had stopped contributing to plastic waste and deforestation!

My Joco reusable coffee cup in black 12oz (354ml). 

Finding the right cup was important for me - I was spending $30 on something that I planned to have around for a long time - so it needed to suit my needs and not date in style. I spent a bit of time researching (I knew I didn’t want plastic as I think it affects the taste) and narrowed it down to my top two: JOCO cup and KeepCup. I went with the 12oz JOCO cup as I liked the thicker band around the body and the lid shape. My husband chose the 8oz KeepCup.

Today I take my reusable cup with me all most everywhere I go. It fits nicely in my handbag and if I ever forget it I will just have coffee in, just like my zero-waste friend and I did. It has been almost 2 years since I started my journey to live more sustainably. With my reusable coffee cup alone I have stopped over 500 disposable coffee cups going into landfill or the ocean. I have inspired family, friends and colleagues to follow suit. I have even had people stop me in the street asking me where they can get one and how much of a great idea it is. These people will go on to inspire their family, friends, colleagues and strangers as well. That’s thousands of disposable coffee cups not being used, which is pretty cool, and is one of the driving reasons as to why I am sharing my journey with you.