April marks Earth Month, and Sustainable Plymouth is celebrating with the launch of its new “Bring Your Own Cup” campaign in partnership with local coffee shops. Starting April 1st, participating Plymouth cafés will welcome customers who bring a clean, reusable cup for their drink. While many local cafés already allow reusable cups, it’s not always widely advertised. This campaign helps make it easier for customers to reduce single-use waste while supporting the small businesses that make our community special.
Customers can take part starting now by taking the Bring Your Own Cup Pledge and committing to bring a reusable cup whenever possible. Community members are also encouraged to help spread the word so more local cafés and customers can participate. Small actions add up, and this initiative is a simple but meaningful way for residents to reduce waste while keeping their dollars local.
The program has already signed on several beloved local cafés, including Leyden Street Coffee, Jolly Bean Café, Kiskadee Coffee Co., Stuzzi Cafe & Sweet Shop, and Rise & Grind Bakery & Café! The initiative has received unanimous support from Plymouth’s Board of Health and backing from the Chamber of Commerce.
There are so many businesses in Plymouth working year-round to make the best choices they can for the planet and we want to help celebrate that.
Many of the participating businesses are already making strides in sustainability. Rise & Grind Bakery & Café sells reusable cups and straws, offers discounted day-old bagels to reduce food waste, and even sits next to a community book swap barn where customers can enjoy a secondhand read with their coffee. Leyden Street Coffee has worked to reduce single-use plastics in its refrigerated beverage selection and even offers canned water (did you know aluminum can be recycled infinitely?)
Plymouth businesses’ sustainability efforts extend far beyond coffee shops. Honey Baby has been using biodegradable straws made from hay for years—plant-based, plastic-free, compostable and classy (https://www.haystraws.com/)! Vela Juice Bar has made sustainability a priority by sourcing responsibly for both ingredients and packaging, using compostable products where possible and straws made from upcycled marine waste (https://www.strawfish.co/). These efforts demonstrate that even primarily takeout businesses can find meaningful ways to reduce their environmental impact.
Sustainable Plymouth hopes the Bring Your Own Cup campaign will be just the start of shining a light on some of the earth-friendly efforts already happening across town. This Earth Month, the message is simple: bring your cup, support local cafés, and help Plymouth sip sustainably—one cup at a time.
If you’re a local business making earth-friendly actions, or a customer that wants to brag about your favorite spot shoot an email to SustainablePlymouth@gmail.com. We want to know!
– Andrea Dickinson
Dickinson is president of Sustainable Plymouth.