Today’s Forecast

49º | Showers | 84% chance of rain | Sunrise 7:50 a.m. | Sunset 4:40 p.m.

Reuse, return, repeat

Portland cafes partner with new company to keep single-use cups out of landfills

A barista reaches for a stack of metal cups.

You’ll find OKAPI cups at cafes like Fetch Coffee Roasters, Clinton Street Coffeehouse, Rose City Coffee, Extracto, and Futura Coffee Roasters. | Photo by Jason Quigley

A Portland company named after one of the coolest mammalian mashups on the planet is working to reduce waste one cup at a time.

The Portland metro area goes through an estimated 1 million disposable cups every week. Most single-use coffee cups are lined with plastic and not recyclable, so they’re hauled 150 miles east of Portland and dumped in a landfill.

Enter OKAPI Reusables, a women-owned-and-led business that celebrated its first birthday in January. It partners with local cafes and provides reusable beverage containers that customers can use by downloading an app. Co-founder Debora Gray answered some of our burning questions about how it all works.

Walk us through the app.

It’s a one-time $10 membership fee to become an OKAPI member, then you can borrow and return as much as you like. Cups can be returned to any cafe in the network. We have 21 cafes in the network in metro Portland, four in Vancouver, WA, and 11 in the San Francisco Bay Area. We’re also testing our service in corporate cafes.

If a customer doesn’t return a cup within two weeks, we send a nudge by email. If the cup still isn’t returned after a month, we charge $15 for the lost cup. We’d rather have the cups circulate!

How many cups do you estimate OKAPI is saving in the Portland metro area?

By the end of 2023, we expect to save 2,500-3,000 cups per month.

Two glass beverage containers containing an orange colored liquid are on a small round table where two people sit outside in the sun. — Glass cups come in 16 and 20-oz sizes and are made with a type of glass that can withstand extreme temperatures.
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Photo by Jason Quigley

What happens when a community member nominates a cafe through your site?

We usually visit that cafe if we haven’t already. Our members give us great suggestions, they have a good sense of where OKAPI will work — it’s the neighborhood cafes with lots of regulars, and owners who care about waste and limiting their use of plastic.

Metro funds, the name + Starbucks

Asked

Which Portland location made it on Yelp’s list of the top 25 most-photographed parks in the US and Canada?

A. Hoyt Arboretum
B. Tom McCall Waterfront Park
C. International Rose Test Garden
D. Cathedral Park

Find the answer at the bottom of this newsletter.

What gets the shutters aflutter?

Events

Tuesday, April 11

Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night | Tuesday, April 11 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | East Glisan Pizza Lounge, 8001 NE Glisan St., Portland | Price of purchase | Sip drinks with friends while showing off the typically useless knowledge you’ve stored away, from film facts to historical lore.
Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival | Tuesday, April 11-Sunday, April 30 | Times vary | Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, 33814 S. Meridian Rd., Woodburn | $10-$65 | Stroll through 40 acres of iconic spring blooms of all shapes and colors, take a tethered hot air balloon ride, enjoy hot drinks and food from onsite vendors, and take some cut flowers home with you.

Wednesday, April 12

Ride Every Wednesday | Wednesday, Apr. 12 | 7:30-10 a.m. | Pioneer Courthouse Square, 715 SW Morrison St. Ste. 702, Portland | Free | Ride, walk, or roll to downtown Portland instead of driving and visit PBOT’s weekly pop-up for fresh coffee, swag, shopping credits, and prizes.

Thursday, April 13

“Firebird” | Thursday, Apr. 13-Saturday, Apr. 15 | Times vary | Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, Portland | $29-$109 | Oregon Ballet Theater presents Yuri Possokhov’s masterpiece based on the Russian folktale about a young prince, his two loves, and a sorcerer’s curse, along with two other spellbinding performances.
“The SPIN” | Thursday, April 13-Saturday, April 15 | Times vary | BODYVOX, 1201 NW 17th Ave., Portland | $25-$70 | The dance you see performed on stage will be determined by the hands of fate, or at least a giant turning wheel.

Friday, April 14

Mushroom Discovery Walk | Friday, Apr. 14 | 9-11 a.m. | Hoyt Arboretum, 4000 SW Fairview Blvd., Portland | $25 | Learn about the ecological roles of fungi, their forms, how they eat, produce, and how to identify them, then explore the trails to find local spring ‘shrooms.

Explore more April events

Click here to have your event featured.

Cause

🍽️ From Cheerios to real meals: How Meals on Wheels People keeps seniors nourished

For 50 years, Meals on Wheels People has been meeting the social and nutritional needs of older adults, like Mary, in our community. | Photo provided by Meals on Wheels People

Mary Higgins, a nurse for 40 years, understands the importance of good nutrition. But over the past year, it has become harder for her to afford nutritious, high-quality food. “Inflation caused a great change in my life,” she said.

After six months of eating mostly Cheerios and tuna fish, a friend helped Mary sign up for meal delivery through Meals on Wheels People — and Mary said it saved her life: “I’m alive because of what you guys do. Now, I’ve got actual real food to eat every day.”

Every day, Meals on Wheels People delivers 5,275+ healthy, wholesome meals to older adults in our community like Mary. Members of the MOWP Sustainers Circle provide dependable monthly funds so that no one ever has to go on a waiting list. Sustainers can set up reoccurring monthly donations for the amount of their choice. (Read: A $65 donation provides one senior with a week of meals.)

Become a Sustainers Circle Member, and help continue MOWP’s mission of providing older adults in our community with the nutritious meals they need.*

Join the Sustainers Circle

News Notes

Traffic

A landslide shut down all northbound lanes of I-5 in Southwest Washington yesterday evening. The Washington State Department of Transportation said the slide happened at milepost 24 near Dike Road, just north of Woodland. Two vehicles were struck by debris and one person was hurt. (KOIN)

Sports

Despite a promising start, the Trail Blazers’ season spiraled into the fifth-worst in the NBA, concluding with a season-finale loss over the weekend. Rip City can now make some big moves (read: smart trades) during the offseason. Willamette Week writer Eric Griffith mulls ways to “fix” the team. (The Oregonian/Oregon Live + Willamette Week)

Plan Ahead

Next Level Burger will host vegan bodybuilder and New York Times-bestselling author Robert Cheeke for a book signing at its West Burnside location. Buy a copy of “The Plant-Based Athlete,” talk to the author, and order an Earth Month Blue Organic Shake on Saturday, April 29, 2-4 p.m.
Durant at Red Ridge Farms will mark its 50th anniversary this July with some serious wining and dining. James Beard Award-winning chef Vitaly Paley will prepare the celebratory meal which includes a raw bar and a family-style dinner featuring Durant’s own olive oils and wines. Tickets are available now. (Eater Portland)

Outdoors

A rare African bontebok calf was born earlier this month at the Oregon Zoo and, after some help to begin nursing, is doing well. Guests can see him once he grows a bit and the weather improves. Bonteboks are considered “one of the most dramatic conservation success stories” in history. (Cool Green Science)

Number

900. That’s how many meals were served at the Union Gospel Mission’s Easter brunch for unhoused Portlanders. The nonprofit organization also put together 400 Easter baskets for housed residents who were unable to provide brunch for their families. (KOIN)

Try This

Think you could turn one of our newsletters into a poem? Spread your creative wings with our poetry contest. The rules: Craft a 75-word or less poem using the words that appeared in our Wednesday, April 5 newsletter. Submit before Sunday, April 16 for a chance at a PDXtoday feature.

Pets

If your dog loves outdoor time with other canines, then they’ll be stoked to join Surf’s Pup Doggie Lounge. The mobile service offers dog walking and hiking, pet first-aid lessons, and more. Surf’s Pup is taking new clients in Southeast Portland, Happy Valley, Milwaukie, John’s Landing, and Slabtown. (KGW)

Today Is

Today is National Pet Day. Celebrate your fur babies with our brand partner, Hannah Chloe Co. From bandanas to bows, your adorable pet will appreciate these gifts. Shop now.

Travel

Itching to take a vacation? How about exploring some of our favorite destinations on the East Coast? We’ve rounded up a list of five drool-worthy vacation spots just for you. This oceanfront suite in Bermuda is one of our favorites on the list. See the rest.

Outdoors

🌎 Go short tree, it’s your Earth Day

Join a Portland-area cleanup event for Earth Day 2023

Cherry trees covered in pink blossoms form two rows in a grassy area next to a pathway and benches.

We can all do our part to keep public spaces clean and beautiful for others to enjoy. | Photo by @me9anbrewer

Volunteer your time for a little spring cleaning around Portland this Earth Day (Saturday, April 22).

Polish the Pearl District and help it gleam by joining Loving One Another and the Pearl District Association for a restoration and cleanup event on the morning of Saturday, April 22. Volunteers will remove graffiti and pick up trash and debris from city streets alongside project partners like Milgard Windows and Doors and the MITER Foundation. The cleanup starts at 9 a.m. at 511 NW Broadway and ends at 11:15 a.m.

SOLVE will also host cleanup events in the metro area for Earth Day. Sign up to remove winter storm debris and beautify Clackamas Cemetery, 8:30-10:30 a.m., or pick up litter along Skyline Boulevard, 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Learn more about Earth Day 2023 and how to get involved.

The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Cambrie

Quiz answer
The International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park is No. 16 on Yelp’s list.

From the editor

While we’re on the topic of recycling and reusing, did you know that Oregon had the highest bottle redemption rate in the US last year? The Bottle Bill recycling program, which charges a 10-cent fee when a consumer buys a redeemable container (like a can of soda), reported an 88.5% redemption rate. The national average is 35%.

Oregonians returned more than 2 billion redeemable containers in 2022 — a first since the program’s inception in 1971. As a result, the program paid over $205 million to consumers and local nonprofits.

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