USG to finally create green coffee mug

After four years of planning, the Undergraduate Student Government is preparing to release its sustainable mug this fall.

The mug will be available at the bookstore and students will receive a discount on beverages purchased at USC Hospitality venues when they use it. Students will also be allowed to take beverages in the mug into libraries on campus next fall, according to USG.

Current plans will allow students with the mug to get discounts on coffee at Seeds, Trojan Grounds, Café 84, Tutor Hall Café, Popovich Café, Literatea, the Annenberg coffee cart, Shop Café and the Law School Café.

Elizabeth Trower, former USG senior director of communication, said the idea for a sustainability mug was first proposed in 2008.

“It’s a project that involved coordinating an incredible number of different interests on campus,” Trower said. “We had to get Hospitality on board, the bookstore to distribute and sell it and the libraries to okay the design of the mug.”

Tim Sae Koo, former USG’s university affairs director, said the project lacked administrative input last year, so the project had to begin again from scratch.

“I said I’m going to take care of this and make sure things follow through,” Sae Koo said. “It was one of my top goals because it’s a great program.”

USG said Hospitality plans to purchase the mug in early July so it can be made, shipped and sold during the fall semester.

Sae Koo said he hopes the mug project will finally be realized this fall.

“I am very hopeful that it will pull through and students will appreciate it and use it,” Sae Koo said. “The main goal is to reduce paper cups waste. Even if it’s small, it still makes a difference on the impact on sustainability.”