TURN Reusable Cups
Reunions generates a massive amount of waste which is sent to landfill. Reunions 2022 sent more than 320,000 plastic cups to landfill. In 2023, the Class of 1998 partnered with TURN to successfully pilot a scalable reusable cup service at their 25th Reunion to save 40,000 plastic cups from landfill.
There are significant advantages to having all tents use TURN in 2024. In addition to financial econmies of scale, the collection bins would be standardized across the campus and attendees could place their cup in any bin, rather than needing to keep it in the courtyard of origin.
There are also environmental advantages to using reusable TURN cups over single-use Earth cups. As soon as a TURN cup is reused more than 3 times, it is better for the planet in terms of the resources it takes to make and use one versus the resources needed to make one single-use disposable Earth cup, even if it is made of industrially-compostable plastic or plastic that is supposed to be recylable. In 2022, sorting errors meant that 170,000 industrially-compostable cups were sent to landfill.
Lastly, it is worthwhile remembering that if a beer vendor offers "free" single-use plastic cups, the cost is actually paid by others or later by the environment and future generations, running counter to the concepts of environmental stewardship and sustainability and the ethos of Reunions.
Click here for 2024 Reusable Cup Info Sheet
There are significant advantages to having all tents use TURN in 2024. In addition to financial econmies of scale, the collection bins would be standardized across the campus and attendees could place their cup in any bin, rather than needing to keep it in the courtyard of origin.
There are also environmental advantages to using reusable TURN cups over single-use Earth cups. As soon as a TURN cup is reused more than 3 times, it is better for the planet in terms of the resources it takes to make and use one versus the resources needed to make one single-use disposable Earth cup, even if it is made of industrially-compostable plastic or plastic that is supposed to be recylable. In 2022, sorting errors meant that 170,000 industrially-compostable cups were sent to landfill.
Lastly, it is worthwhile remembering that if a beer vendor offers "free" single-use plastic cups, the cost is actually paid by others or later by the environment and future generations, running counter to the concepts of environmental stewardship and sustainability and the ethos of Reunions.
Click here for 2024 Reusable Cup Info Sheet