News from Scout supporter Ethical Bean Coffee Company

Vancouver, BC | Two weeks after the announcement of a pilot recycling project, Ethical Bean Coffee CEO Lloyd Bernhardt has decided to revise the company’s bag-return program so that empty coffee bags will no longer be sent to incinerators. Instead, Ethical Bean will store the empty coffee bags at their roasting facility until a more environmentally friendly solution is found.

“After further consideration and a lively online discussion with both local environmental leaders and our customers, we have decided that incineration of empty coffee bags is not our best solution,” says Bernhardt. Much of the debate took place on Vancouver’s Scout Magazine, which became a forum for opinion on the pros and cons of waste energy, incineration and recycling. “Our mandate at Ethical Bean is to continuously work towards being both just and better. Scout’s readers took it upon themselves to respond, educate and work with Ethical Bean on an answer to empty coffee bags that does not include incineration. It is my belief that open conversations such as this one can lead to change.” The full debate can be viewed online at http://bit.ly/cT3LKm.

All coffee lovers are still invited to bring their empty coffee bags, even those of competitors, to the Ethical Bean Xpress drop-boxes located at the Granville Skytrain station and Commercial Skytrain station, or to the Ethical Bean Café and roasting facility at 1315 Kootenay Street in East Vancouver. Those who bring in 5 bags or more at a time will receive an extra treat: a cup of fresh drip coffee on the house. Additionally, all who write their name and email address on the side of their bags before returning them will be entered each week into a draw for a free pound of coffee. Anyone across Canada can mail their empty coffee bags, along with their name and email address, to Ethical Bean Coffee, 1315 Kootenay Street, Vancouver, BC V5K 4Y3 and be entered into the weekly draw.

Ethical Bean Xpress will be accepting coffee bags at their drop-boxes from 6:00AM to 6:00PM Monday to Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM on Saturdays. The Ethical Bean Café and Roastery will accept bags from 8:00AM to 5:00PM Monday to Friday.

About Ethical Bean

Ethical Bean Coffee Company roasts only 100% Fair Trade Certified and certified organic coffees from around the world. The Vancouver, BC, based company is committed to ensuring small-scale farmers receive a fair price for their efforts so they can sustain their businesses and provide a decent standard of living for their families. Ethical Bean coffee is roasted in Vancouver in a 100% carbon neutral facility built to LEED CI standards.

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