WHAT’S UP DOWNTOWN – Help the environment, give up paper coffee cups

THE KAMLOOPS CENTRAL Business Improvement Association (KCBIA) represents Downtown businesses, developers and property owners.

This year, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) released a Biosphere Adhesion Guide for its stakeholders. This guide explained TOTA’s drive for sustainability and the encompassment of all aspects of cultural, social, environmental and economic health.

Falling in line with TOTA’s drive, Downtown Kamloops is committed to creating a sustainable community and wants to take yet another leap to leaving a greener tomorrow for future generations – starting right in the core of the City of Kamloops.

If you were to buy one cup of coffee every morning in a disposable cup, you would create 23 pounds of waste per year. In 2011, there were 6,335 residents living downtown. If each person bought one coffee a day for a year, the entire community would create 145,705 pounds of waste.

Aligning our community with TOTA’s Goal Area 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by raising awareness and consciously doing our best to be responsible and respectful of our waste, we will decrease the amount of waste from disposable coffee cups.

We want to promote a sustainable community by giving out reusable coffee cups and asking everyone to pledge giving up the alternate, outdated and wasteful paper cups and pushing the City of Kamloops’  BYO initiative; a program encouraging people to “Bring Your Own” reusable item (ie. a coffee mug, straw etc.) If you haven’t already, you can make the pledge online at City of Kamloops

“SMALL ACTIONS HAVE A HUGE IMPACT”. ~ City of Kamloops

We’ll be giving out mugs and a free coffee coupon at various locations from Oct. 15 to Oct. 19 in Downtown Kamloops. See you there!

This article was written by Alexis Proulx, Customer Care and Patrol (CAP) Team Supervisor and Back Alley Art Gallery Coordinator. Reach her at 250-572-3008/3009. Email capteam@downtownkamloops.com. Follow on Facebook, Instagram (Downtownkamloops) and Twitter (@downtownkamloops).