Story of the Cup is a short documentary film created by a remarkable coalition of artists and activists with a simple, powerful objective—the need to save the world from ourselves for ourselves and all those who hope to live on this planet in the near and far future. Their work is part of the larger ongoing worldwide group effort involving recyclers, zero waste advocates, clean energy warriors, and environmentalists who’ll be celebrating the 55th Earth Day on Tuesday, April 22.
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Story of the Cup is the latest Alameda project meant to educate and motivate. The documentary revolves around a simple way we can become better members of Team Earth: Drink our hot and cold drinks in a more sustainable fashion.
The movers and shakers behind this project are the 94501 version of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy with one member an actual creator of a Green Superhero named Resilience. That person, Jessica Jane Robinson, made this remarkable film along with Ruth Abbe from CASA [2] (Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda) and four Alameda High School students—Cassidy Chan, Christine Choi, Cristina Rodriguez, and Olivia Alexander. In only 16 minutes, through clear narration and beautifully simple animation, the film shows us how paper and plastic cups are made, the shocking extent to which we use them, the damage they and we do, and one way we can better the environment with reusable cups.
The villains in this story are all of us who use and casually throw away non-recyclable cups, a practice that results in an estimated 427,168,625 boba cups [3] being sold, drunk from, and then thrown out each year. An equally slippery bad guy is the seemingly recyclable paper cup that we (and I, for sure) proudly toss in the blue bins all over town. Turns out, that many of the 16 billion we use each day are often lined with polyethylene that degrades from hot liquids, leaving microplastics floating in your Americano.
An essential ally in the efforts to right this wrong, and the smart option for the crescendo of bad cups, is OKAPI Reusables, a company promoting essentially what we do at home- use a cup, wash it, use it again, and again and again. They’ve teamed up with local coffee shops [4]—including Julie’s Coffee and Tea, a longtime supporter of zero waste—where customers can pay a small fee to use a durable stainless steel cup that will keep your drink warmer or colder and the landfills less full.
Jessica Jane Robinson co-wrote Story of the Cup with Christine Choi who, along with her fellow Hornets, were interns working with Robinson. When asked about her role in making the movie Choi said, “I was inspired to join this internship because of my passion for environmental advocacy. I really believe in the power of writing and art to amplify marginalized issues, so I wanted to use that to speak up for the environment.”
Cassidy Chan described her experience saying, “Being a part of the documentary process has been amazing. This was my first time filming, and being a part of such a well-thought-out project, it’s inspiring.”
The strength of Story of the Cup comes from its didactic approach—here’s the problem, here’s a way to fix it—but also through the storytellers. To see the four young people walking the beach, picking up trash, and encountering wildlife affected by that trash is a powerful reminder of the goal to leave the world in a better place for the next generation. Older generations can work alongside them, a community of wiser cup users, to make that happen.
Story of the Cup will be available for viewing at midnight on April 22, on the YouTube channel @casamarketing510 [5]. For more information visit these websites: CASA [2], OKAPI Reusables [6], and Resilience Birthright [7].
Gene Kahane is the founder of the Foodbank Players [8], a lifelong teacher, and former Poet Laureate for the City of Alameda. Reach him at [email protected] [9]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Gene-Kahane [10].