Mission Pie

Our commitment to environmental sustainability extends well beyond the simple separation of waste into compost, recycling and trash (although we’re pretty passionate about that. For more info on how to dispose of most common café waste, check out our guide here). Mission Pie works every day to find new ways to minimize its impact and maximize conservation, and is supported in its efforts by a variety of environmental organizations, including the Green Café Network and Food and Water Watch. In addition to our commitment to sustainable and organic agriculture and local sourcing, here’s a quick rundown of some of the less obvious, more surprising ways we work to conserve, reuse and recycle:

• We proudly serve clean, fresh San Francisco tap water in lieu of costly bottled water, which generates an enormous amount of unnecessary waste.
• Our smaller circular tabletops are made of a compressed recycled paper product called Paperstone that we had made by Dana at Skyside Studios in Novato.
• All of our chairs and larger furniture were purchased second hand.
• Our stone countertops are made of stone reclaimed from the entryway of our old café space.
• Our wood floor and the wooden front of our counter are made from materials reclaimed from our own building or others, thanks to our innovative contractor, Logan Design and Construction.
• The stools by our front window counter are former tractor seats mounted on custom bases designed and built by Kai Klaassen.
• All of our paper products are made from recycled material and are fully compostable, as are our bio-plastic to-go forks.
• We offer a $.25 discount on any coffee/tea drink when you bring your own cup. Better yet, you get a free refill when you forgo the paper cup and order your coffee “for here”!
• Our kitchen consists entirely of energy-efficient appliances, including our ovens, refrigerators, and our dishwasher, which can wash a huge load of dishes, pots and pans with less than one gallon of water!
• All of our cleaning products are biodegradable and environmentally friendly.
• Many of our local and last-minute errands are run in a car fueled by spent vegetable oil.

The Green Café Network is dedicated to addressing America’s over-consumption by reducing the ecological impacts of the coffeehouse industry and harnessing café culture for environmental education. For more info, please visit the Green Café Network website.

Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. They challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink. For more information about water conservation, bottled vs. tap, and the organization, please visit the Food & Water Watch website.

Where to Throw What

A Guide to Dividing Your Common Café Waste

At Mission Pie, we’ve set up three small, convenient bins next to the self-service coffee station. The little black bin is for trash, the blue one in the middle is for recycling, and the tallest one in the back is for compost. Believe it or not, the vast majority of our waste is actually compostable!

Trash

This stuff goes straight to the landfill.

• Plastic bags
• Plastic straws
• Cellophane wrappers
• Chip bags

Recycling

This stuff can be broken down and made into other stuff, although the process does consume energy itself.

• Cardboard sleeves
• Plastic coffee-cup lids
• Glass bottles and caps
• Aluminum foil & cans
• Pie tins
• Paper (magazines, newspapers, flyers, boxes)

Compost

The best kind of waste! This stuff biodegrades naturally and creates nutrient-rich, fertile soil that can be used to grow healthy, organic crops.

• All food-soiled paper (coffee cups & sleeves, napkins, to-go boxes)
• Tea bags
• Food scraps (including dairy, coffee & juice)
• Waxed paper and cardboard (milk cartons, paper soda cups)
• Bio-plastics (including our to-go forks)

For more information on what’s recyclable, what’s compostable, and what’s destined for the landfill, please visit the SF Recycling website.