Sharley Babul, morning supervisor at the Odyssey Coffeehouse, shows off one of the new black mugs that were introduced as part of their "green" initiative. JESSICA BURTNICK PHOTO

The Odyssey Coffeehouse is inviting customers to come in and stay a while with its new ceramic mugs.

On Nov. 9, ceramic mugs were introduced for those who would rather stay and enjoy the atmosphere of the SAITSA coffeehouse.

Odyssey morning supervisor Sharley Babul said the entire staff loves the new mugs.

“Good size for a good cup of tea,” said Babul, who stated she is more of a tea person.

The mugs have been one of the Student Legislative Council’s (SLC) goal items and a part of their green initiatives for the past two years.

The Odyssey distributes over 250 paper cups each day. Although the paper cups and their plastic lids are recyclable, the new mugs will help to further reduce SAITSA’s carbon footprint.

“We are now putting the first two Rs in Reduce, Reuse, Recycle into effect,” said SAITSA president Steven Hildebrand.

The green aspect is not the only thing appealing about the mugs.

“They are nicer to drink out of,” said Hildebrand.

The SLC was tasked with this goal last year, but it was passed over and forgotten, said Hildebrand.

“It got lost in the paperwork somewhere,” said Hildebrand.

Once the initiative came back into play, the plans for the mugs were carried out quickly and smoothly, said Hildebrand.

“It was actually quite easy to do.”

The mugs arrived in May last year. It only took eight weeks to acquire them, but the council kept forgetting to actually implement them.

It was SLC member Adam McAlonan who reminded council about the mugs.

“It took way too long for something so simple,” said McAlonan.

There will be some adjustments that the Odyssey staff will have to go through to make this initiative work.

“It will take some time for the front till staff to get used to asking customers if a coffee is to stay or go,” said Babul. “Right now it’s all about making people aware of them.”

Babul said so far it has only been SAITSA staff that have been interested in the mugs.