Most of us pay visits to coffeeshops. It is truly a phenomenon of our time. And yet, do we all truly enjoy or get 100% fulfillment from our purchase of a cup of coffee.
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I am one that always feel at odd. While quality of coffee and milk can vary from place to place, it’s the sugar that bugs me.
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Most coffee outlets supply you with a sugar stick packet or two. Either all is consumed or just a portion. The consumer has little option but to throw away the leftover.
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It is the leftover which is bothering. A sugar stick packet may cost a cent each but if you consume half, you throw away half a cent each time. If you buy a cup of coffee a day, it’s US$1.50 that goes to waste each year. A million of us, it’s US$1.5 million, wasted.
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Sugar farmers, millers, marketing companies make a healthy earning from this waste without demand. But a waste is a waste. That US$1.5 million or much more if we go global, could go on for better use, for charity, for better environment.
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Leftover sugar in a package is usable if a customer can have the option of putting it in a container for further use instead of throwing it into a waste basket. The collection could also be donated to food banks where they can be put to good use rather than being discarded.
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Environmentally, the leftover can be mixed with other organic waste. In the mixture this process can help break down the organic material effectively, contributing to better environment.
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It’s all pretty basic. Starbuck and some coffeehouses have given it some thoughts by introducing syrup. But I guess it’s more for their own cost saving because sugar stick package is still on the shelf. If they could go a step further, a visit to a coffeehouse can be sweetened with less sugar