coffee cups in the office or not?

[ACG]

I’m trying to be green and phase out disposable coffee cups, we buy anywhere from 3000 to 6000 per month. Sorry I didn't make one of those fancy poll things:


So quick question: (ask your spouse’s too)

1.Does your company supply paper coffee cups?
2.Styrofoam?
3.Doesn’t supply cups?
4.You don’t care, stop bothering me.

Thanks!

[lph]

3. We have our own. I can't really imagine needing a disposable one. No. I'm wrong, there are a few disposable ones in the meeting rooms, meant for guests.

[ny biker]

I'm pretty sure we have disposable ones in the kitchen, but many people use their own mug instead.

(I don't drink coffee, so I don't remember offhand. But occasionally I will make a cup of tea here at work, and the last time I did that there were cups here for me to use.)

[PscyclePath]

We're an environmental agency, so it's Bring Your Own Cup. We have a collection of cups and mugs for visitors as needed.

[Becky]

The agency doesn't supply anything coffee-related, but our employee-funded coffee club does keep a stash of styrofoam cups around, as well as a small collection of hand-me-down mugs. Most employees use their own mugs.

[indysteel]

We have a collection of coffee mugs and extras for guests.

[Roadtrip]

Use my own. Even when I stop at the coffee shop I try and take my own travel mug along for use.

Shannon

[Catrin]

I use my own. We do have a couple of extras for guests and do not use disposable cups at all.

[jessmarimba]

We have our own. And it's pretty disgusting here, since we don't have a kitchen sink to wash them in and our building landlord doesn't like us washing dishes in the bathroom sink.

[Trek420]

use my own. Even when i stop at the coffee shop i try and take my own travel mug along for use.

+1, byom

[colorisnt]

Where I worked this summer, we all had our own mugs. I usually came in with a cafe au lait or a mocha in the morning in my travel cup and then used my mug in the day at work. I love my travel mug because it has a "clip" function that clips onto a basket or your handlebars!

Currently, I started the coffee trend in the office with the grad students, being the first one to bring a pot in! We all have mugs and are pretty dang eco conscious!

[warneral]

bring your own with some extra ones for visitors. I bring in a handmade one from Etsy. Wash it in the work sink and bring it home every few days for a hot cleaning.

[7rider]

The cafeteria in our building uses paper disposables. I imagine you can use your own for the price of a (small?)...but I'm not sure. I never buy coffee there.
There is a "coffee fund" on our floor with a few divisions. You pay into it for coffee, sugar, creamer, but you supply your own mug. Tea drinkers just toss a few nickels in a can for sugar, if that's their thing, I think. I think there are a few extra mugs kicking around for guests.
I drink coffee at home, and when I bike commute, I bring a thermos with coffee and have a mug at my desk.

[Deborajen]

We usually bring our own or use one out of the office's kitchen cupboard. If there is a special occasion, like a pot luck lunch or a bridal shower or baby shower, we'll use styrofoam then to minimize clean-up.

[GLC1968]

Our company supplies paper ones but I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen someone use one. Most everyone has their own mug,

[emily_in_nc]

#2 - ugh, styrofoam cups in every coffee area. I work for a larger company, so fortunately it sounds like this is not the norm at smaller workplaces. I use my own mug as do most others, but there are some who use styrofoam day after day. There's just no excuse for that in my mind, and I have lost respect for at least one (VERY smart) co-worker who goes through several foam cups a day, every day. :mad:

[ClockworkOrange]

As with many things, here in the UK we are always way behind you guys in the US.

We only had a water dispenser about 2 years ago, now what really does annoy me is when somebody decides to wash the old cups and put them back..........that is just so unhygenic.

Back to original question, yes, coffee and tea cups are provided but they are disgusting, so I bring my own in and keep in a safe place, otherwise somebody else pinches it, now we are only about 12 in staff.

BUT WHAT DOES ANNOY ME....................why can't people rinse/wash their own cup, instead of just chucking it in the sink WITH contents of stale coffee or tea! :eek:

OK, rant over.

Clock

[uk elephant]

I've got my own mug at work too, as does everyone else. and there is a collection of random mugs for guests in the kitchen area. Luckily, we do have a small kitchen area where we can wash our mugs and most people do wash their own.

[limewave]

Our company provides Styrofoam cups. But I use my own travel mug. I also have a nalgene bottle I use for water.

Also, I use my own travel coffee mug when I go to the gas station or at Starbucks. I get a discount for having my own cup.

[JennK13]

Both - typically, staff uses their own mugs, and we have way more mugs in our kitchens than we have staff. At one point, when we were trying to be more "green" and cut our budget, the lady in charge of supplies refused to order styrofoam cups and told everyone to use the mugs. However, we are a government, and when we have guests here for meetings, you can't give them a mug with a brown stain ring in the bottom of the cup. We also have large scale gatherings with 20-50 people, where we'll put out the coffee pots and sleeves of cups for people to help themselves - it would be a lot of work and washing to put out that many mugs, and they are all different and don't match (not that looks should matter).

One last thing, we also started cutting down on bottled water, too. We bought pitchers for each of our 3 kitchens and matching glasses and use those for meetings as often as possible instead of bottled water. Staff also uses the glasses daily instead of the cups or bottles.

[tulip]

Ah, I work from home...so I get to make the rules. No styro or paper cups. Tea on demand!

[sfa]

It's entirely DIY in my office. There's a coffee pot, but if you want coffee, you bring the coffee from home AND the mug to put it in. We keep some on hand for meetings (and extra mugs) but it rarely gets used--we're more likely to move the meeting over to the cafe and get coffee there.

Sarah

[lph]

Bottled water is my personal gripe. I live in a country which is literally overflowing with masses and heaps and oodles of excellent, clean water. The oh-so-posh bottled water "Voss" is the same water that people in that small town a bit south of here wash their dishes in and flush their toilets with. The tap water in Oslo is maybe not quite that pristine, but still very good quality.

so WHY does my workplace - we work with river and water planning for crying out loud - insist on having these stupid water cooler thingies, that have been transported for miles? :mad: Just to get it a few degrees colder??

[Norse]

The company supplies paper cups but a lot of people, including me, have their own mugs. I keep a separate glass for the water cooler.

[Susan Otcenas]

We have a cupboard filled with mugs, glasses, plates, bowls, eating utensils, serving utensils, etc. I need to pick up some dessert-sized plates because most of our plates are dinner sized and having birthday cake on a dinner plate is odd. :) We almost never use anything disposable. We do have paper towels in the kitchen, but we also have cloth hand towels, which is what most people use. (Actually we have only cloth towels in the bathrooms, too. They get washed regularly; we have a washing machine.)

TE buys coffee from a local roaster (Nossa Familia) and flavored syrups for all to use. We have an espresso machine and a small coffee pot, though no one really uses the pot. Espresso all the way, baby! We used to buy milk, but ended up letting folks buy their own milks, because everyone seemed to want something different (almond, soy, non-fat, lowfat, etc.)

[pfunk12]

We have a deli in our building that uses paper disposable cups but I have seen many employees walk in with their mugs. We also have Keurig machines on each floor and everyone uses their own mugs.

[smilingcat]

We have a cupboard filled with mugs, glasses, plates, bowls, eating utensils, serving utensils, etc. I need to pick up some dessert-sized plates because most of our plates are dinner sized and having birthday cake on a dinner plate is odd. :) We almost never use anything disposable. We do have paper towels in the kitchen, but we also have cloth hand towels, which is what most people use. (Actually we have only cloth towels in the bathrooms, too. They get washed regularly; we have a washing machine.)

TE buys coffee from a local roaster (Nossa Familia) and flavored syrups for all to use. We have an espresso machine and a small coffee pot, though no one really uses the pot. Espresso all the way, baby! We used to buy milk, but ended up letting folks buy their own milks, because everyone seemed to want something different (almond, soy, non-fat, lowfat, etc.)

I want a job at TE :D :D I'm paying for my own relocation expense to Troutdale!! I could be a product tester and a reviewer! Troutdale to Hillsboro not too far to commute :D

My previous company was too cheap to have cups, plates or any such thing. However, they did provide coffee. We all had our own mugs, cups etc.

The new company which I just started on Monday ... not sure since I use my own mug so haven't checked. Quietly asking if I can commute on my bike.

[Bike Chick]

Everyone brings their own cup but we have sytrofoam in the cabinet for visitors. We don't have many visitors.

[Susan Otcenas]

Quietly asking if I can commute on my bike.

This is a thread hijack, but... why would you need to ask? Unless they are payin gyou for your travel time, seems to me you should be able to get to work any way you want. :confused:

[GLC1968]

I want a job at TE :D :D

You and me both...even if it would mean having Susan as a boss! ;):p

You should see TE's building - it's a dream place to work (never mind all the cool people!). They've got a huge bike storage room for commuters (inside!), showers, a great kitchen, beautiful building, plenty of parking...and really commuteable from the western suburbs of Portland (and probably from Portland itself, but I don't know those roads as well).

Too bad they aren't hiring EE's. :(;)

[TxDoc]

We all have our own mugs, and discposable paper/foam cups for patients, visitors and guests.

[Jo-n-NY]

last year the company I work for bought mugs for everyone with the companies name on one side and Green Week 2010 on the other.

[badger]

we have reusable mugs, but most people bring their own personal mugs.

We have bottled water down where I work, as there are no sinks or kitchen nearby on this floor. The problem I have with that is, my being a germaphobe, I wonder what sort of critters may be incubating in the holding tank before it's pumped out. And are they sterilizing the reusable bottles? can I trust the hands that handle them? *shiver*

[emily_in_nc]

We have bottled water down where I work, as there are no sinks or kitchen nearby on this floor. The problem I have with that is, my being a germaphobe, I wonder what sort of critters may be incubating in the holding tank before it's pumped out. And are they sterilizing the reusable bottles? can I trust the hands that handle them? *shiver*

This made me laugh as I'm a bit of a germaphobe myself and would probably be thinking the same kinds of thoughts! :D

[tulip]

We have bottled water down where I work, as there are no sinks or kitchen nearby on this floor. The problem I have with that is, my being a germaphobe, I wonder what sort of critters may be incubating in the holding tank before it's pumped out. And are they sterilizing the reusable bottles? can I trust the hands that handle them? *shiver*

Wow. I would have thought that bottled water would be okay for a germophobe. I mean, it's standardized and mechanized and regulated and inspected and verified and and so removed from anything organic. Have you considered distilled water? Not sure how tasty it would be, though.

[Blueberry]

Wow. I would have thought that bottled water would be okay for a germophobe. I mean, it's standardized and mechanized and regulated and inspected and verified and and so removed from anything organic. Have you considered distilled water? Not sure how tasty it would be, though.

I wonder if she means the refillable 10 gallon jugs that come from a water company and go into a dispenser? The dispensers on those worry even me a bit. Of course, I drink tap water from a Brita - so go figure:)

[tulip]

Oh, thanks for clarifying that, Blueberry. I still don't see the issue. But then, I drink tap water from...the tap (!). I guess I have other concerns that take up my attention, time and energy.

Back to the topic, the rare times I go out for tea or coffee, I prefer to sit down and enjoy it in a real mug or cup, not disposable. Luckily, I rarely have to get a to-go cup since I've made slowing down a priority in my life.

[nikkoblu2]

Use my own. Even when I stop at the coffee shop I try and take my own travel mug along for use.

Ditto...and now I make DH do the same. It doesn't come naturally for him, but he's a work in progress :rolleyes:

[nikkoblu2]

Oh, thanks for clarifying that, Blueberry. I still don't see the issue.

We have a big jug on a dispenser here at work and the water company comes and takes the empties and brings us nice clean, full bottles. I believe the issue is definitely the spout on the dispenser. I see ladies fill their small-necked bottles by inserting the spout into the bottle so they don't spill any water. Ya gotta figure the inside of your water bottle has your own germs on it and when it comes in contact with the water spout they rub off...as well as everyone else's germs.

I use a wide necked bottle and hold it below the water spout - figuring the inside of the water spout should be relatively clean. I get sick pretty easily - colds and viruses - so I try to take the extra measure to not pick up stuff my body might not be able to fight off.

[jessmarimba]

I can't speak for you guys' dispensers, but we had to clean the inside of one of ours for some reason and it was pretty nasty. Granted, it'd been in use for probably 8 years without being cleaned and the carpet around the dispenser was quite disgustingly moldy from us dropping several of those giant bottles over the years. We were probably breathing a lot more funk than we were drinking.

[badger]

yeah, it's not the actual water inside it, but the dispenser and the bottle that's holding the water. One of the guys here have worked at a bottling factory and he said he wouldn't trust the spout to be clean, as that's where people grab them to handle them.

And the dispenser has a hot water option, which I'm assuming is some supercharged heater thing that instantly heats it up, but whenever you get heat and moisture, well, things start to grow...

I took apart the very top part of the dispenser once, and had to wipe it down because it looked like the water was just sitting there for no reason. I was commenting on it never being cleaned, and I guess the person who's in charge of it heard me as a technician showed up the next week to clean it.

I would much rather prefer tap, but we don't have a sink nearby!