Free refills offered to students using reusable mugs
Waste Reduction and Recyling, a division of UC Davis Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability, is working in conjunction with RecycleMania 2011 to promote its new Spot-a-Mug campaign, which rewards students using reusable mugs on campus.
Jamie Wong, a junior linguistics major and WRR staff assistant, said that if someone is spotted by a WRR staff member using a reusable mug, he or she will be presented with a coupon for a free coffee or soda refill.
“We will be looking in high-traffic areas on campus – the MU, the Silo, the library, etc.,” she said in an e-mail interview. “Just use your reusable mug often to increase your chances of being spotted by a WRR staff member!”
Wong said the coupon can be redeemed once at the ASUCD Coffee House, Silo, Scrubs, Genome or Bio Brew – all of which are located on campus. She also mentioned that anything that can be reused counts to receive a coupon.
“The most common [mugs] I see on campus are stainless steel or BPA-free plastic travel tumblers,” she said. “But I do see people use ceramic mugs and sometimes even Mason jars – these both count!”
Wong also said that RecycleMania will be tabling every Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Memorial Union.
“Students can come play Plunk-A-Mug to win prizes or stop by to learn more about RecycleMania and Spot-A-Mug,” she said. “Our staff will be there to answer any questions [students] might have about recycling, waste reduction, or how to get involved.”
– Victor Beigelman
Tax changes reduce paychecks
As many have already noticed, taxes on paychecks increased starting Feb. 1. However, the tax rates haven’t changed from the Bush administration, said Pari Velji, director of Accounting and Financial Services at UC Davis.
“When the new tables were implemented in 2011, they were the same tables that the Bush administration had,” said Velji. “But because it didn’t have the Making Work Pay credit, some people saw their taxes go up.”
Under the 2009 Stimulus Package, the Obama administration implememented the Making Work Pay tax credit, which awarded $400 per worker and $800 per couple, reducing the amount of taxes withheld. As this Making Work Pay credit expired December 2010, the tax tables saw the effects in the beginning of 2011.
“Normally, the rates would be implemented in January, but they were implemented for the Feb. 1 pay because of what was going on with Congress,” Velji said.
Congress took extra time to decide whether or not to renew the Making Work Pay tax credit and ultimately decided against extending it for 2011.
– Akshaya Ramanujam
