Starbucks cups end up shiny Christmas decor

Tax Appeals office head Eileen Bordaje fixes the Christmas decor at her office at City Hall. (CDN PHOTO/ EDISON DELOS ANGELES)

After sipping that coffee from Starbucks, don’t toss the cup just yet.

Workers of  Cebu City Hall like to  pose for souvenir photos beside a Christmas tree, two lanterns and a table of glittering  Christmas decor  made of used paper cups at the Local Tax Appeals office.

It took about a year to gather  the  cups of different sizes , said the creator, Eileen Bordaje, who heads the office.

She and her boyfriend, lawyer Ralph Sevilla, would collect them from  their favorite source of java,  Starbucks.

Series lights and silver dust transform the coffee  containers into a holiday surprise.

“I came to realize that there are times that you should not be throwing away things because they can still be reused,” she said.

Bordaje said she feels fulfilled  every time she looks at her decor which she  worked on during Saturdays  since  Nov. 25.

The  5-foot tree  stands near their office door.  Two lanterns hang on the wall  beside it.   Below it are little Christmas trees used as table decor.

Bordaje said she got the idea from Sevilla who likes to collect  cups from Starbucks, which serves  coffee orders by size — short, tall and grande.

Sevilla used to head the City Legal Office and Human Resources Management Office. He would keep the Starbucks   holiday season cups in his law office because of their colorful design.

Sevilla  is an advocate for environment protection and likes to recycle.

“Natakdan lang ko niya (I got this passion from him),”  said Bordaje.

Although she finished a psychology degree at the University of San Carlos, Bordaje never gave up on her childhood love for art.

“This year,  the cup design caught my attention,” she said.

The paper cups she used on her Christmas tree still bear the labels and production description on them.

“They were waste ready for the garbage.  I collected them all,” she said.

Sevilla later contributed his paper cup collection for the project.

“Hilig lang gyud siya mag collect ug garbage. He does not throw things  away because the cups are made of good material and can be recycled. Sayang siya ilabay . (It’s a waste to throw them away),” Bordaje said.

Janitors at Starbucks  would help her go around the tables to gather  paper cups.   She also  recyclced some paper bags,  carton cup sleeves, tissue paper and coffee holders to use as design elements.