Our Recycling Program
In an attempt to be more in tune with mother nature, we’ve been taking some notes on how she operates. Since coffee is the seed of a fruit of a plant, we figured it would do us well to contribute as much to that process as possible—we’re going Green(er).
In the past, we’ve participated in a number of sustainable practices and we recently felt like it was time to do a bit more. At Lucky Goat, we’ve made recycling one of our top priorities. For example, each box or container that makes its way into one of our warehouses is unloaded, unpacked, repacked, and sent back out. Reusing potentially non-recyclable or even recyclable containers is one of the only ways we can absolutely ensure our waste is being repurposed in a responsible and productive way. In addition to our in-house recycling of boxes and containers, we recycle all plastic and glass waste we accrue behind bar—which not surprisingly builds up. Further, we send all of our old coffee grounds out to local farms to help those baby strawberries grow big and strong. We’re proud of what we’ve done in the past, but there’s always room for growth. This is what we want to talk about.
Some recent changes have made their way into the café that we’re excited to talk about. In addition to the aforementioned environmental efforts, we’ve recently introduced new ways to recycle, alternative materials for things that couldn’t be, and new programs that any of our customers can partake in with our increasing coffee waste. We’ll explain.
The first change we made in our cafés in the new recycling bins for the lobby. These bins were built out of repurposed wood by our staff to provide a place for your various plastic-ware. As a reminder, these are for plastic products only, including things like iced to-go cups, water cups and both hot and iced lids. Things like our straws, hot to-go cups, and paper products will stick to the normal bins until further notice.
The next thing we did was replace some of the materials we weren’t able to recycle. Starting now, all of our stirrers are wooden. Meaning they’re easily degraded in the environment regardless of what happens to them. Similarly, we’ve replaced all of our plastic to-go containers with renewable materials composed of biodegradable fibers. While we don’t suggest throwing these out of your window, you can rest easy knowing that if you do, they won’t stay there for thousands of years.
Finally, we’re initiating a program which offers a home for the endless supply of retired coffee we accrue. Historically we’ve only offered this coffee to local farmers, but with our increase in coffee production, these grounds need new homes and new plants to live in. We’ll be offering variable-sized portions of used coffee grounds that can be repurposed for fertilizer, compost, or any other creative project you can think of (coffee candles, anyone?).
Stay tuned for more updates as we send this project out to sea. It’s our biggest attempt at making our cafés more amiable for mother nature, so while our work here will never be done, we are excited to bring some more green back to our shops. As this initiative gets underway, we’ll stay vigilant for additional solutions, so please let us know how we’re doing!
As Ever,
LG
