I’m all about that less-waste life. I’m the friend who’s gently nudging you to grab your reusable coffee cup, the one teaching local classes on how to break up with single-use plastics. My Owala water bottle is practically an extension of my arm – it goes everywhere with me. So, when we headed to the Cintas Center for my niece's amazing Mason High School graduation – such a proud, happy day! – my husband and I had our Owalas, ready to stay hydrated.

At the Cintas Center entrance, it was a hard stop. "Nope, can't bring those in," the security guard told us. Our options? Hike all the way back to our car, parked miles away it felt like, or leave them outside. With the ceremony about to start, we made a split-second decision – one I now seriously regret. We carefully placed our awesome, heavy-duty stainless steel Owala bottles on a table nearby, figuring, "Okay, they'll be here when we get back." Right?

Wrong. After celebrating my niece (go Comets!), we came back out, and… poof. Gone. Vanished. When we asked the Cintas Center folks, the answer was just… flat. "Oh, our policy is to throw stuff like that in the TRASH."

Hold up. TRASH?! Are we kidding? My heart just plummeted. These weren't some flimsy, disposable things. These were our beloved Owalas! The bottles that have helped us dodge countless plastic disposables, the symbols of our family’s tiny trash goal (less than 2.6 gallons a week, thank you very much!). These bottles have seen more airports than some people! And now? They’re just in landfill. Thanks to a rule that, honestly, feels incredibly shortsighted.

Seriously, Cintas Center, what gives? Why is "chucking it in the bin" the default for valuable, eco-friendly items that folks are trying to do the right thing with? Couldn't there be, like, a temporary holding spot? A lost and found that actually finds things before they hit the dumpster? Maybe even donate them if they’re truly abandoned? 

Your current policy feels like a slap in the face to anyone trying to live a little greener. And let's be real, big venues like yours have a massive footprint; you should be leading the charge on sustainability, not adding to the problem.

It just feels like such an uphill battle sometimes. Here I am, trying to empower my community to make sustainable choices, and then this happens. My personal property, something I chose specifically to reduce waste, got tossed out like it was nothing.

So, Cintas Center, listen up. With all due respect, this policy is just not it. It needs a serious rethink. You have a golden opportunity here to actually support the community’s efforts to be sustainable, not make us feel like our efforts are pointless the second we walk up to your doors. Let’s find a better way than just "trash it." Let’s make "being the change" something we can actually achieve, together, even at big events.

This isn't just about my lost Owalas, though I’m definitely mourning them. This is about a bigger picture. Are we, as a community, actually serious about cutting down waste, or are we just talking a good game?

I’m putting this out there, @CintasCenter, because we need to talk. We need a real dialogue that leads to genuine, impactful change. Our planet deserves better than policies that make it easier to create trash than to prevent it. It’s time to do better.