Cafe Virtuoso Partners With Clear Blue Sea For New Zero-Waste Coffee Container Program

Café Virtuoso, the first 100-percent certified organic specialty coffee roaster and cafe in San Diego, has just announced a partnership with Clear Blue Sea, a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to cleansing the oceans of plastic pollution, to establish a zero-waste coffee container initiative. The goal of this new permanent program is to actively promote and participate in the reduction of plastics that end up in landfills and in the ocean.

Rather than receiving a paper or plastic cup when ordering a beverage, Cafe Virtuoso customers will now be given the option to have their drink served in a glass container accompanied by a metal lid and insulated sleeve constructed from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles that were directly removed from the coastline. The recovered plastic bottles are broken down and transformed into a recycled yarn, which is then woven into an insulated sleeve designed and created by North Carolina-based company Freaker USA.

Café Virtuoso will charge a one-time fee of $1.25 to participate in the zero-waste initiative which includes the glass container, lid, and sleeve. Upon return for another beverage, customers simply wash and turn in their original glass container, keeping their lid and insulated sleeve, and the cafe will provide a fresh one with the new beverage. Participating customers will also receive a 25 cent discount for each new drink order.

“We’re beyond thrilled to be partnering with Clear Blue Sea to kickstart this new solution for zero waste,” says Laurie Britton, founder and CEO of Cafe Virtuoso. “Striving to be as sustainable as possible, we’ve always provided compostable cups in our cafe, but without an official composting program here in San Diego, unless customers are composting our cups at home, it’s not helping all that much. With this new program, we can more effectively encourage and empower others to actively participate in reducing plastic waste.”

“Clear Blue Sea is devoted to discovering and implementing many methods of accomplishing our mission to rid our oceans of plastic pollution,” says Venezia Zandrelli, director of sustainability at Clear Blue Sea. “With the development of our Floating Robot for Eliminating Debris (FRED), we’ve created a scalable solution that we foresee becoming an indispensable tool for cleaning plastic from oceans around the globe. However, by creating and encouraging more participation in programs like this one with Cafe Virtuoso, we can help to ensure less plastic from ending up in our ocean ecosystems in the first place.”

For now, Café Virtuoso will still have compostable and recyclable cups as an option for customers who choose to opt out. However, in conjunction with the forecasted success of the new zero-waste program, the coffee roaster plans to phase out all single-use containers before the end of the year.

See you there….and stay healthy, San Diego!

Share This Post
The Latest
Bianchi Pizza & Pasta
The bayfront dining scene at Mission Bay has a new star, and we couldn’t be more excited about it. Bianchi Pizza & Pasta has opened...
Seabreeze Chocolates
Seabreeze Craft Chocolates has been quietly perfecting the art of small-batch chocolate making, and now they’re launching their Summer Pastry Pop-Up that has us genuinely...
Best 4th of July fireworks in San Diego
4th of July in San Diego is here…can you feel it? That’s right, it’s the smell of barbecues firing up, the sound of kids splashing...
Things to do in San Diego for 4th of July
Looking for things to do in San Diego for 4th of July? You’re in luck—there is no better place to celebrate the 4th of July...
San Diego County Fair 2022
Planning a trip to the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar? Here’s what you need to know before you go! Because we want to...
mavericks beach club sports courts
Mavericks Beach Club on Garnet Avenue has been busy transforming their space, and the result is something we’ve been waiting for in Pacific Beach. They’ve...
Recently Featured Restaurants
The bayfront dining scene at Mission Bay has a new star, and we couldn’t be more excited about it. Bianchi Pizza & Pasta has opened...
A new fire has lit up Little Italy—Piedra Santa, an Argentinian-inspired steakhouse, is now open and bringing the bold, smoky tradition of open-flame grilling to...
Dora, a vibrant new Southern Italian restaurant from the husband-and-wife team behind Cori Trattoria, is set to open in La Jolla’s Theater District this fall—and...
There’s a breezy new addition to Little Italy’s dining scene! Brisa, an island vibes and Latin-Japanese fusion restaurant, is now open at the corner of...
Downtown La Mesa has a delicious new addition—Tour de Tapas, a restaurant offering Euro small plates and sips inspired by the culinary traditions of Spain,...
Tajima Crown Point is the latest addition to San Diego’s beloved ramen scene, officially opened on December 14 at 3782 Ingraham Street. Known for its...