By: Kara Murphy

UGA and 15 other universities will compete to reduce waste from disposable coffee cups in a nationwide University Challenge on Oct. 5 , sponsored by Kill the Cup, a non-profit organization. The campaign will run through Oct. 30, and the university that serves the most coffee in reusable cups will receive social impact grants to fund sustainability on their own campus. 

“The number of cups that get thrown away every year by Americans can wrap around the earth 55 times,” says Lindsey Bineau, student ambassador for UGA’s University Challenge. “And those produce carbon dioxide, obviously, as they are slowly decomposing in landfills. They can’t be recycled, either, because of the coating that’s on the outside of them to make them water resistant … so it’s super important to find alternative ways so we don’t have to deal with that waste.”

A table will be set up outside of Jittery Joes on UGA’s campus during the challenge to educate students about waste reduction and what it means for the environment.

Universities competing in Kill the Cup’s University Challenge 2015 are:

• Boston University
• California State University San Marcos
• Columbia University
• Humboldt State University
• Loyola University Chicago
• Miami University (Ohio)
• Penn State University
• The George Washington University
• University of Florida
• University of Georgia
• University of Illinois
• University of Michigan
• University of North Carolina
• University of Richmond
• University of Washington
• Villanova University