Students visited the Re-Mug Wall, a shelf of colorful ceramic mugs, in Allison dining hall during the Oct. 8 launch event for a sustainable solution to paper cup waste.
The new Re-Mug program provides more than 25 community-donated mugs to Allison diners. Most NU dining halls self-service hot coffee, tea and hot chocolate in disposable cups, adding to the more than 50 billion paper cups thrown away in the U.S. each year, according to a 2018 study by an engineer at the Institute of Seawater Desalination and Multipurpose Utilization, State Oceanic Administration.
Hillary Swimmer, sustainability and community engagement manager for Northwestern Dining, wrote in an email to The Daily that the program primarily focuses on sustainability via reducing and reusing.
“By collecting and repurposing donated mugs, we’re not only giving these items a second life, but also reducing reliance on disposable cups and helping students think more intentionally about waste reduction in everyday campus life,” Swimmer wrote.
A 2018 case study by openLCA determined that the single use of a machine-washed ceramic mug emitted more carbon dioxide than a single use of a paper cup, but when used repeatedly, paper cups emitted far more carbon dioxide than mugs.
Swimmer wrote that the intention behind the Re-Mug program is to reduce waste of single-use cups while also making a cultural impact, raising awareness across campus of waste reduction.
Weinberg freshman Yousuf Rostom said he saw the mugs’ environmental importance.
“I’m throwing away this paper cup after one use, and you could just reuse the mugs,” Rostom said.
Still, other students have struggled to use the Re-Mug Wall despite being aware of its presence.
For students like Weinberg freshman Jorge Pano, the mugs were difficult to take on the go, influencing the decision to still use a paper cup.
“I’m going to take the coffee with me,” Pano said. “I can’t take the mug.”
With mugs sourced from the Evanston and NU communities, the program employs coffee mugs as a fun, interactive vessel for sustainability, Swimmer wrote.
For Weinberg sophomore Uliana Zelenko, the program has provided comfort beyond the ensured sustainability of her cup.
“I hate drinking anything from the cups that they provide here,” Zelenko said. “It just doesn’t feel cozy.”
Zelenko also noted that her friends enjoy drinking from mugs that remind them of home.
The launch required a lot of preparation, with logistical problems puzzling program directors. A primary challenge to implementing the mugs was organizing and cleaning them while adhering to kitchen safety standards.
Swimmer wrote that directors will define the Re-Mug program’s success by participation and feedback, along with behavioral and environmental outcomes.
With strong community participation, Swimmer said that NU Dining may expand the program to other dining halls.
“Our long-term vision is to make reusable options a standard part of the dining experience at Northwestern, fostering a campus-wide culture of sustainability and shared responsibility,” she wrote.
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