The City of Middletown launched the Refill, Not Landfill Coffee Cup Passport program on Thursday, July 21 to reduce waste from disposable coffee cups. Interested patrons can participate in the program by pledging to use a reusable coffee cup from one of the program’s six coffee shops before Monday, Oct. 31. Reusable coffee cups were distributed at participating locations while supplies lasted. Every time the cup is refilled at a participating shop, a stamp is added to a “passport” (which is similar to a punch ticket). Once five stamps are collected, the participant will be entered into a monthly raffle. 

Six coffee shops along Route 9 are participating as of this article’s publication: Perk on Main, located at 368 Main St., Middletown; Story & Soil, located within Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore at 413 Main St., Middletown; Perkatory Roasters, located at 725 Main St., Middletown; Klekolo World Coffee, located at 181 Court St., Middletown; Essex Coffee, located at 51 Main St., Essex; and Brew Bakers, located at 169 Main St., Middletown.

“It has been very popular,” Middletown Recycling Coordinator Kim O’Rourke wrote in an email to The Argus. “The idea is to get customers in the habit of using reusable cups.”

O’Rourke explained that the program is intended to reduce waste as disposal capacity in Connecticut decreases, especially after the closure of the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority’s garbage incinerator in Hartford in July due to high costs. O’Rourke emphasized that the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection estimates that New England’s available landfill space may decrease by 40% between 2020 and 2026.

“Connecticut is facing a trash disposal crisis,” O’Rourke wrote in an email to The Argus. “Single-use waste accounts for much of what goes in the trash. Plus, a lot of it is used for such a short period of time!”

O’Rourke reiterated the City’s commitment to moving forward into new sustainability efforts with out-of-the-box concepts.

“We need a new approach,” O’Rourke wrote. “Middletown is working on creative solutions to dealing with this problem. One way of doing this is educating the public about waste and getting them to rethink their use of single-use items.” 

The program was funded by a grant from the Rockfall Foundation, a nonprofit organization located in Middletown, CT, dedicated to supporting the conservation of natural resources and promoting education about environmental sustainability. 

“The mission of The Rockfall Foundation (TRF) is to promote and support environmental education and conservation in the Lower Connecticut River Valley,” the Rockwall Foundation’s website reads. “We envision a healthy and happy quality of life for all, achieved through wise environmental stewardship, planning, and environmental education, and the experience of a meaningful connection with nature now and for future generations.”

One obstacle to the program has been the COVID-19 pandemic according to O’Rourke. The initiative was interrupted before it started by the pandemic, and has only been able to get underway this year as a result.

“There was some confusion during COVID, so we wanted to let people know it’s okay to use your own cup and try to elevate the conversation on reusables and single-use items,” O’Rourke wrote.

According to Brew Bakers Manager Philipp Aigner, the program has increased in popularity over the months since its inception.

“We were asked if we would like to join the program and we thought it’s a great idea, so we did,” Aigner wrote in an email to The Argus. “It started slow but it’s been getting more popular.”

The October raffle prize for the Coffee Cup Passport program is a picnic bag filled with reusable items from ReBoot Eco, a sustainability-focused home goods store in Middletown.

Now that they’ve dipped their toes into the water of reusable drinks, the City of Middletown plans to partner with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to expand its sustainability profile. 

“The City was awarded an EPA grant to pilot reusable takeout containers and we are looking forward to developing that program this fall,” O’Rourke wrote. “We hope these efforts will help us create a more sustainable [reusable] take-out system for Middletown restaurants.”

Lastly, O’Rourke expressed gratitude towards everyone who has participated and will participate in the program. She is hopeful that continued use of reusable cups will help counteract the rise of single-use cups. 

“We appreciate all the support we’ve received for this program and we hope that customers will continue to use their reusable cups after the program has ended,” O’Rourke wrote.

 

Aris Dashiell can be reached at adashiell@wesleyan.edu.