Petaluma turns purple with plan to eliminate disposable-cup waste
The numbers are staggering. According to one report, the world uses 500 billion plastic cups every year. It's estimated that 50 billion paper coffee cups are thrown away in the United States alone.
And in California, only 9% of single-use plastics ever gets recycled. Most of it ends up in landfills or finds a way into rivers, streams, and oceans.
A new poll conducted in late June 2024 by Oceana shows the darkening mood of the country when it comes to this waste. In the survey of 1,043 registered U.S. voters, 84% support increasing the use of reusable packaging and food ware.
An innovative pilot program underway in Petaluma may serve as a roadmap for the rest of the world on an approach to reduce single-use plastic waste and limit the risks to our planet.
It's called the Petaluma Reusable Cup Project. It's a collaboration led by the NextGen Consortium, which is part of Closed Loop Partners, an investment firm that focuses on creating a no-waste future.
When it comes to the Petaluma Reusable Cup Project, it's hard to miss it if you stop in downtown Petaluma.
Here, everyone seems to be carrying the eye-catching purple cups that are central to the program. There are also matching purple bins used to recycle the cups, both inside and outside of cafes, bistros, bakeries, and delis.
"We're actually really liking it," exclaimed Betty, who was sipping an iced chai latte in a purple cup outside of the Petaluma Coffee and Tea Company.
"What a great idea," interjected her husband Mikah.
What's got the locals buzzing more than a cold brew is the three-month pilot project. It began in August and will end sometime in November. More than 30 businesses are involved. The project is being funded by major global and local brands as well as restaurants including Starbucks, the Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Peet's Coffee, and Yum! Brands.
The project is testing the effectiveness of deploying reusable cups throughout the city and will gather data. The front of the cup displays the slogan: "Sip, Return, Repeat."
Here's how it works: Once you finish a beverage, you simply return the cup to one of the 60 distinctive purple bins placed around the city.
The cups then get picked up, cleaned and sanitized before they're returned to the business for their next use.
"It's a cool idea," said one cafe customer as he sipped his coffee. "Just wash 'em and put 'em back into circulation."
"My hat is off to our community for being so involved and getting it right with really not a lot of instruction," said Patrick Carter, who is the executive assistant for the City Manager of Petaluma and involved in the pilot project.
Carter told CBS News Bay Area that Petaluma was chosen by Closed Loop Partners for the experiment for good reasons.
"They really liked the idea of Petaluma, the density of our downtown and how we had a bunch of businesses that would really fit in well with the program," explained Carter.
Before the cups were deployed, a lot of research went into which design fit best. They were first tested on focus groups. The purple color was selected so that the cups would stand out and the matching bins would be easy to locate.
The cups were designed to be nice looking but not too beautiful for folks to want to keep as souvenirs. According to one CBS News Bay Area producer, they are well designed to keep hot beverage hot and cold beverages cold.
Each cup comes with a unique QR code so researchers can track them.
Petaluma is the first in the nation to try a city-wide reusable cup program. Carter said that pioneering spirit of helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change fits Petaluma. The city was the first to ban new gas stations. Now it hopes to lead the way for other cities, counties, and states in trying innovative ways to reduce plastic waste.
"The less single-use plastic we use, the better for the environment, the less will end up in our rivers streams and landfills," noted Fern Adams, who works for the Petaluma Pie Company.
So far, the program is working well. The only concern CBS News Bay Area heard from interviewing random customers was about using plastic for the reusable cup. Some shop owners heard from a few customers who questioned how clean the cups could be and how they sterilized them. Closed Loop Partners explained that the cups are BPA-free and made from food-grade plastics.
Ashley Harris from the Petaluma Coffee and Tea Company told us from her perspective, the reusable cups make sense.
"This is immensely important. As a coffee shop, we see the waste that leaves this place with to-go cups," said Harris. Many paper cups are also lined with plastic.
At the frozen-treat paradise called Once Upon a Slush, owner Dave Pokorny said the program works beautifully. He said he had customers come in to get larger portions so they could try out a reusable cup. He added the program only works if people return their purple cups to the purple bins.
CBS News Bay Area did an informal survey of about a dozen bins and found lots of purple cups and no contamination or other garbage.
"I love the fact that these come back to us and that we get to use them again," exclaimed Pokorny.
"I am glad that we're doing something we're making some changes," said one young mother, who ordered a 50-50 slushy in a purple cup.
After the three-month pilot project, the NextGen Consortium will study the collected data. If the program is successful, they may scale it up to other locations. As for Petaluma, the organizers are already seeking advice on continuing the programs and applying for grants to pay for any additional costs.