Goodbye to My Reusable Mug

You have served me well, but now it’s time to go.

I‘ve had this mug since I was in college. It’s half as old as I am.

When I purchased it in 2002, I rarely drank coffee, but I was getting involved in a fair trade advocacy group on campus. We served fair trade coffee at our booth and worked to get more of it served in the campus cafes. And sometimes I drank a little of what we served. I started to get a taste for it.

This trusty mug cost $12. Or maybe it was $15. At the time, I could buy a drip coffee refill in this mug at the shop for $1. What I’m saying is, that 2002 was a different time.

My shiny 12-ounce aluminum mug is one of the most practical and recyclable things I have ever owned. It is insulated with double walls. The lid seals tight and never leaks. The carabiner handle hooks to a belt loop or backpack, and is one of the reasons I’ve managed not to lose it for the last twenty years!

It is made entirely of metal except for the plastic screw-on part of the lid.

With so much use, it’s dented, faded, and crooked. It doesn’t stand up straight anymore. I’ve dropped it out of my backpack, off my bicycle, on the street, in the desert, on the beach, at work. It’s been to Canada and the United Kingdom. It’s traveled to Florida, Wyoming, California, New York, Oregon, and Burning Man.

I have consumed so many things from its insulated depths: tea, coffee, hot chocolate, soup, cold water, lemonade, wine, beer, and many, many cocktails.

But that pesky plastic piece is finally peeling. I have no idea what that second layer underneath is made from. I don’t want little plastic bits in my beverage.

Plus, the hardest part of this mug to clean is the inside of the plastic part. It’s gotten pretty gross in there before I learned how to take the metal lid part off.

It’s time to retire this mug.

I am replacing it with a reusable mug from Goodwill that cost $4.99 plus tax. Though I’m certain that this new (used) mug will not last as long as its forebear, at least I am already giving it its second life.

Today, I put the metal parts of this mug in the recycling.

Today, I put the plastic piece in the trash.

Thank you for your service, reusable mug. If only everything lasted as well as you.

What durable possessions do you have and treasure? What beloved items have eventually had to be replaced, and did you find a good replacement? Respond and tell us about them.

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