Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups, 58 billion paper cups and 35 billion plastic bottles every year. These containers are not recycled, most are not recyclable, and yet we all keep using them again and again because we don’t connect the practice with its environmental impact.
To help raise awareness and promote recycling and sustainability this Earth Day, The 30A Company has teamed up with SweetWater 420 Fest and Rubicon Global for the #UsedCups social media campaign and a fun recycling contest during the festival in Atlanta.
Beginning Thursday, April 13, cup users everywhere are encouraged to post photos of reusable cups on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #UsedCups. Participants will be entered to win two 3-day passes to SweetWater 420 Fest or an Apple Watch Series 2.
Every reused and recycled beverage container counts. Reusable water bottles are highly encouraged. Ceramic coffee mugs? You bet. Even solo cups? Absolutely, if you’re that person who puts them in the dishwasher or that saint who always recycles them.
30A Gear has an extensive collection of reusable drink items. (We’ve banned disposable water bottles at work, so they’ve all been tried and tested A LOT!)
“Rubicon was founded to disrupt the traditional waste industry and keep waste out of landfills, and our friends at The 30A Company have a similar passion for keeping plastic out of oceans,” said David Rachelson, head of sustainability at Rubicon Global.
Last year, The 30A Company launched the Dumpster Diver line, made of recycled plastic. Each shirt saves about eight plastic bottles from landfills or oceans.
“As a company, we work to reduce and reuse as much as possible,” said JoAnn Ribaudo, chief operating officer of The 30A Company.
“Change starts with each one of us and using recycled plastic to create our t-shirts and beachwear is one way we can have a direct impact.”
The #UsedCups campaign will wind up at this year’s SweetWater 420 Fest, April 21-23, at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park. On festival grounds, ‘Dumpster Divers’ from The 30A Company and Rubicon will recycle as many plastic beer cups as possible, diverting waste from landfills and the ocean. Festival patrons will be given the opportunity to fill recycling bags with #UsedCups from the beer stands in exchange for a special 30A Dumpster Diver t-shirt, made from recycled plastic, and/or a SweetWater beer.
Photo by Dave Vann from SweetWater 420 Fest Facebook
“Every year, SweetWater 420 Fest is an incredible Earth Day celebration right here in Atlanta, so we couldn’t ask for a better culminating event to showcase the importance of recycling and reuse,” Rachelson said.
As Earth Day 2017 approaches, Rubicon, The 30A Company and SweetWater 420 Fest invite cup users everywhere to join us in reducing, reusing and recycling whenever and wherever possible.
