Starbucks Challenges Paper Cup Waste via Sustanability Design Contest.
Yesterday the winner of The Betacup Challenge, a Starbucks-sponsored design contest held to tackle the overwhelming amount of coffee cup waste accrued each year, was declared.
The winning entry (see below), which was chosen by a jury of designers, engineers and entrepreneurs out of a pool of 430 designs, was surprisingly simple: It’s a chalkboard. Customers who bring in a reusable mug can put a mark on the board, and every tenth guest receives a free beverage.
“There are plenty of great reusable mugs out there,” the entry says. “But what people really need is an incentive to make the behavior change — a free cup of coffee and a bit of peer pressure.”
Shaun Abrahamson of Colaboratorie Mutopo, the social production consultancy that organized the challenge, explained that the jury was looking for an idea that could be implemented to make a difference right away — which may explain why more creative concepts, like the 100% compostable cup made out of rice husk disposables or the barcode consumers could attach to reusable mugs to redeem rewards and gain social awareness, weren’t chosen.
Continues @ http://mashable.com/2010/06/18/starbucks-betacup-challenge/
