During the 2008 calendar year (January 1 - December 31), Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) was able to divert 36,565 paper cups from the trash through its 23 Pound Mug and discounted coffee refill program. The re-usable travel mug, whose name comes from the amount of paper trash that will be diverted by one using the cup daily for a year, is sold at cost at HUDS retail dining locations. Coffee purchased in that, or other re-usable mugs, is discounted at all retail sites.
The reduction in cups represents 10% of the total hot beverages sold in retail locations during the calendar year. That number does not capture any cups saved by individuals using the 23 Pound Mug in their office or for their residential dining brew (23-Pounders are regularly seen in the undergraduate dining hall Mug Trees that students use).
HUDS was able to divert 36,565 paper cups from the trash...