SAVANNAH (Ga.) – Savannah’s city officials have announced that bars and restaurants are celebrating a successful test run of serving to-go beer and cocktails in aluminum cups.
Georgia’s oldest city has ended a pilot program for two months that aimed to see if businesses could reduce the use of plastic cups. It also tested whether people could reuse and recycle aluminum cups. Savannah’s historic downtown district is known for its lively nightlife, where you can enjoy a drink from a cup of alcohol to go.
Nick Palumbo, a city alderman, pushed for the trial that would allow businesses to test the aluminum cups. During the pilot period, the city council approved temporary aluminum additions to paper and plastic cups to allow for drinks to-go. Restaurants and bars used approximately 50,000 aluminum cups.
Palumbo stated that 50,000 plastic pieces were diverted from the waste stream and out of our environment.
Carey Ferrara, of the Gaslight Group which owns several Savannah restaurants said that the pilot was a success. The biggest problem is the fact that aluminum cups are more expensive than plastic. She suggested that businesses could reduce the additional cost by ordering multiple cups.
Ferrara stated, “We can collaborate to purchase the cups at a low enough price for us,” Ferrara added.
