For Immediate Release

May 5, 2025

Contact: Trish Pinnella
trish@wastefreesantacruz.org

 

Waste Free Santa Cruz Wraps up “Just Bring It” Campaign 
Thousands of Single-Use Cups Avoided

Culture of reuse grows countywide proving small actions can have a big collective impact

 

Santa Cruz, CA — Waste Free Santa Cruz has wrapped up its Just Bring It campaign, celebrating a major milestone in the effort to reduce single-use waste across the county. Over the course of three months, the campaign empowered residents, businesses, and visitors to sip sustainably—diverting thousands of disposable coffee cups from the landfill and helping normalize the habit of bringing reusable cups.
The Just Bring It initiative partnered with 37 local coffee shops, partnering nonprofits, and community leaders from January through April 2025, reaching thousands of people and providing direct support to businesses that promote reusable alternatives.

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Key Campaign Highlights:

• Over 37 coffee shops participated across the county.

• Thousands of single-use cups were diverted from landfills

• Hundreds of people have taken the BYO Pledge to reduce single-use plastic!

• Community members engaged at tabling events requesting more waste free solutions.

• The campaign reached thousands on social media, inspiring new sustainable habits.

 

Local coffee shops offered incentives for BYO (bring your own) customers and saw local enthusiasm firsthand.

“At Companion Bakeshop, we’ve always been passionate about serving great coffee and baked goods while trying to keep sustainability and quality at heart,” said Erin Lampel, owner of Companion Bakeshop. “We love seeing our regulars bring in their own mugs and cups. Partnering with Waste Free Santa Cruz was a natural fit—we’re excited to keep encouraging small actions that add up to big change.”

"Here at the Loft, our customers have been excited by the campaign. They were amazed by the participation of so many independent coffee shops. We recorded over a thousand BYO sales throughout the campaign!"

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“At Verve, innovation and sustainable practices are part of our DNA. We’re proud to be working with Waste Free Santa Cruz on its BYO Coffee Cup campaign,” said Carrie Swain, Santa Cruz retail manager of Verve Coffee Roasters. “To contribute to reducing single-use products, our Santa Cruz community has actively embraced this initiative, with an impressive uptake of almost 10,000 reusable cups used by our coffee lovers in just the last three months.” Their total reusable cups were over 11,200 which is an 833% increase.

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Bringing your own cup will continue to save you .25 and remove a cup from the waste stream. Some  coffee shops will continue to offer an additional incentive. Cafe Delmarette, Coffeetopia, Hidden Fortress, Steamer Lane Supply, and UCSC. The University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) community was a major supporter in the campaign’s success.

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    "Waste Free Santa Cruz’s ‘Just Bring It’ campaign is a perfect example of how small, everyday actions can lead to big environmental impacts. Supporting the BYO movement is critical to preventing litter at the source and reducing the harm it causes to wildlife, human health, and our psyche. We're excited to collaborate with Waste Free Santa Cruz at The Pitch In All County Cleanup Day on May 10th. Waste Free Santa Cruz shares our goal to Make Santa Cruz the Cleanest County in the State," said Sally-Christine Rodgers, Founder of Pitch In Santa Cruz.

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While paper cups may seem recyclable or compostable, most contain a plastic lining that prevents them from being properly processed. Even cups labeled “compostable” end up in landfills as we do not have commercial composting in Santa Cruz County. Additionally, research shows that microplastics have been found in our food, water, and even our bodies—posing potential risks to human health, including hormone disruption, inflammation, and long-term toxicity.

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Next Steps:
Waste Free Santa Cruz will continue momentum by joining forces at The Pitch In All County Cleanup Day on May 10, 2025, encouraging all residents to take pride in keeping our community waste-free. Join by signing up https://www.wastefreesantacruz.org/event-details/santa-cruz-annual-clean-up.  

To learn more about upcoming initiatives, visit wastefreesantacruz.org or follow @wastefree_santacruz on Instagram and Waste Free Santa Cruz on Facebook. Take the BYO Pledge today! https://www.wastefreesantacruz.org/pledge 

Thank you again to the Participating Coffee Shops The success of Just Bring It shows that simple, daily choices — like bringing a reusable coffee cup — can collectively make a huge difference. We are grateful to the coffee shops, nonprofits, government partners, and residents who stepped up for a more sustainable Santa Cruz.

11th Hour, Alta Organic Coffee, Cafe Delmarette, Cat & Cloud Coffee, Coffee Conspiracy, Coffeetopia, Companion Bakeshop Westside, Daily Grind Coffee, Game Santa Cruz, Hidden Fortress Coffee, Loft Coffee, Mr. Toots, Peoples Coffee, Shrine Coffee, Steamer Lane Supply, The Abbey Coffee Lounge, UCSC Dining (11 locations), Ugly Mug Coffeehouse and Verve Coffee Roasters. 

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About Waste Free Santa Cruz
Waste Free Santa Cruz is dedicated to creating a more sustainable and thriving community by reducing single-use waste, fostering local partnerships, and advocating for policies that protect our environment. As an affiliate of Beyond Plastics, we are part of a growing movement to eliminate plastic pollution and advance waste-free solutions. Through education, collaboration, and community-driven campaigns, we inspire individuals, businesses, and policymakers to take meaningful action in reducing waste and preserving the natural beauty of Santa Cruz.