Relentless and innovative, longtime Mill Valley resident and Ambatalia owner Molly de Vries is nearing a long-sought goal of creating a pilot program in Mill Valley that seeks to reduce the prevalence of single-use coffee cups.
In doing so, de Vries leveraged the Mill Valley Memorial Day Parade, one of our community’s signature events, and she now says she’s closer than ever to bringing her concept, Community Reusables, to the finish line.
“We’ve come a long way, and we’re on the verge of launching Community Reusables,” she says. “The app is almost ready, the cups are on their way, we have our first electric bike and trailer and our beautiful washing facility at the Community Church of Mill Valley. We built a human-powered, human-sized reusable cup for the parade and it was quite something to build and fun to walk and dance through the parade with my family.”
A quick glance at any of the trash bins around Mill Valley reveals an abundance of one particular source of waste: single-use coffee cups. The Community Reusables team has garnered support from an array of organizations, including the City of Mill Valley through Zero Waste Grant funds, the Mill Valley Chamber, Mill Valley Refuse, and the Enjoy Mill Valley Fund. Stay tuned!