Living eco friendly with the new Eco Mug

By Fritz Klug

Western Herald

What went into the creation of the new EcoMug?

One part environmental stewardship. One part economic savings. One part student zeal.

As some 5,000 EcoMugs are making their ways into the hands of first year students when they check in to the residence halls, it is a plan that has been in the works since January that has come to light.

In collaboration with WMU administrators and local businesses, the new EcoMug program, organized by Professor Harold Glasser’s Environmental Studies 4100 class, Ecological Design: the Campus as a Living Laboratory, tries not only to reduce waste, but also cuts costs for both the provider and consumer.

EcoMug 4.0

The concept of the EcoMug began in 2001 as part of Glasser’s 4100 class. The group sought to find a solution to combat waste on campus.

First up: disposable foam and paper cups.

After initial research, 400 plastic blue EcoMugs were ordered and sold on campus in 2002. The idea was well received but the mugs were bulky and leaked.

In 2003 another EcoMug was introduced, but never really caught on. Two years later, the Western Student Association funded a third EcoMug until 2007.

This past spring, another of Glasser’s 4100 classes decided to take on the project, this time to find the “ideal” mug.

Since the first EcoMug, WMU has begun to make strides in being more sustainable: the Health and Human Services Building received recognition for leadership in energy and environmental design for an existing building this past year; cafeteria trays are no longer used in five dining hall, and the President’s Universitywide Sustainability Committee was founded in 2003, which Glasser chairs.

It is also one of President John Dunn’s niches.

“[The students] thought was that maybe this is the time to do it,” Glasser said.

The 2009 study was built on the research and trials of the previous three groups and the successes of other universities such as Yale and Oregon State. The four students in the group also conducted their own field work: passing out surveys among students and testing some 50 prototypes for their practicality, aesthetics, and durability, which included throwing them down two flights of stairs, filled with liquid.

The design that won out was easy to use: no handles, no leaks, and durable.

Also the mug holds 15 oz, which is closer to a drink size a business already sells. “That really helped us make it more marketable,” Madeline Brown, one of the 4100 students, said.

“I hope when incoming students receive an EcoMug, they realize how much of an impact they can make,” Brown said. “This is their chance to make an impact.”

The class produced a 20-page report that was presented to President Dunn at the end of the semester.

According to their research, Dining Services generated 10,678 pounds in waste from disposable cups in 2007-08, costing $32,453.

The EcoMug program is not only practical in an economic and environmental sense,” the report reads, but it also sends a message of sustainability to other students and therefore modeling our sustainability commitment.

The group looked into using American made mugs, but nothing turned up. Instead, they discovered Earth2Earth, a Pontiac based company that screen prints with water-based inks and distributes other sustainable promotional items.

“The concept [of the EcoMug] is brilliant and simple,” Peter Boyce, who runs the company with his wife Lisa Angelilli (a WMU alumna), said.

“It’s hard to be a complete environmentalist, but we try and do little things that count.”

Boyce assures that the mugs come from a fair-trade and sweat-shop-free company in China.

“This is a small step, but it makes a big difference,” Thomas Doherty, an environmental studies major and student in the spring class, said.

6,000 EcoMugs were ordered and Glasser estimates around 5,000 will be handed out at Fall Welcome. EcoMugs will also be available to purchase at the WMU Bookstore for $19.95, and will be on sale during September for $11.95.

Glasser says that any money made off the mugs will be deposited into a revolving fund for sustainability programs and initiatives at WMU.

Turning it from a report to an actual product involved a lot of footwork. Casey Barrons, an enviromental studies major, worked with Glasser over the summer to get local business to commit to offer discounts.

“A lot of people got behind it,” Glasser said, including President John Dunn, Vice Presidents Lowell Rinker and Diane Anderson, Provost Tim Greene, Associate Vice President Bob Miller, and Terry Hudson, WMU Bookstore director.

Funding for the mugs came from a WSA resolution from the winter of 2009 to provide EcoMugs to all incoming freshmen and by the Office of Business and Finance, the Division of Student Affairs, the Office of Academic Affairs, the WSA, the Office of Community Outreach and the WMU Bookstore.

Discounts

EcoMugs can be used in the dining halls for breakfast, late-night and Draper carryout, where foam cups were only available before. At campus cafes, such as Flossie’s in Sangren and Plaza Café in Sprau Tower, they yield a 20% discount on beverages.

EcoMugs are availale for purchase at Campus Trends located inside the Bernhard Center and the discounts continue even further into the Kalamazoo community.

“We like bringing students in and helping out,” Clarke Babcock, a manager at Irving’s Market, said.

“We support reusable and earth-conscious alternatives to [foam cups].”

In addition to 10 percent off coffee and fountain drinks purchased in an EcoMug, Irving’s offers $0.50 refills for anyone using a reusable mug.

The Strutt offers $0.50 off any coffee drink, Shawarma House and King 50 percent off coffee, tea and fountain drinks, as well as 10 percent of the purchase of a sandwich.

Nine local businesses currently offer discounts to EcoMug carriers, a list Glasser and Brown said will grow.

“It really pays for itself,” Glasser said. “It’s like the Golden Goose.”

For an up-to-date list of businesses that offer discounts and for more information on the EcoMug and Sustainability at WMU, go to wmich.edu/sustainability.

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Posted by heraldstaff on Aug 30 2009. Filed under Breaking, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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