Used Books

There is a great supply of used books of all kinds in the bookstore that were sold or donated by their original owners. Customers can buy the books to take home, or just borrow them from the shelves to read while they hang out at the cafe.

Newspapers and Magazines

Although Moonbeam sells newspapers to customers who get coffee to go, she encourages customers who stay to reuse the free papers she makes available. (Moonbeam keeps a stack of today's papers and some of the latest magazines in a box. Her customers can pick out what they want to read and return it when they leave the cafe.)

Glasses and Mugs

Moonbeam stocks the snack bar and coffee area with real glasses and mugs instead of foam cups. Mugs and glasses can be washed and used time after time.

To cut down on the amount of paper and plastic going into the waste stream, Moonbeam sells refillable mugs. Her regular customers buy them and bring them in whenever they want something to go.

Using reusable mugs saves natural resources. It also saves Moonbeam and her customers money because she doesn't have to buy or throw away disposable cups. (Moonbeam even offers a small discount to customers who bring their own mugs from home.)

Coffee Grounds and Leftovers

Since a coffee house can use up a lot of coffee, Moonbeam called the Recycle City school to see if some students wanted to come by to pick up the coffee grounds for the school's compost bin. They did. Now, Moonbeam puts all the grounds into a single bin, so the students can collect them once a week. She also buys produce grown with the compost in the school's garden to make the best sandwiches and salads in town.

Lighting

Every light bulb in Recycle City has been replaced with a more energy efficient fluorescent or LED light bulb. Citizens are saving thousands of dollars using less electricity to light their homes, streets and city buildings.