I started Common Tides with two goals that most people don't think belong together: pull an exceptional espresso every single time, and take care of the place I'm doing it in. Those two things aren't in conflict. Not to me. But I'll be honest, it felt good to have someone else confirm it.
Last week, Common Tides received its 5-Star Ocean Friendly Establishment certification from Plastic Ocean Project, a Wilmington NC-based nonprofit working to reduce plastic pollution and protect our coastal waterways. Five stars is the highest rating in the program. And earning it wasn't an accident. It's the result of choices I made from day one about how this trailer operates.
Our official 5-Star OFE certification from Plastic Ocean Project, Wilmington NC.
What Is an Ocean Friendly Establishment?
The Ocean Friendly Establishments program is run by Plastic Ocean Project, a nonprofit headquartered right here in Wilmington at 3975 Market Street. They certify local businesses that take measurable, real steps to reduce plastic waste and protect coastal ecosystems.
It's not a participation trophy. Businesses are evaluated on specific criteria: what products they use, how they handle waste, how they run their operations day-to-day. Five stars means you've committed to the full picture, not just swapping one straw for another.
Plastic Ocean Project is a Wilmington-based nonprofit. When Common Tides earns this certification, it's a local organization recognizing a local business for protecting the same coastline we both love. That means something.
How Common Tides Earned 5 Stars
Here's exactly what we do. No vague mission statements. Just the actual practices that went into this certification.
And we're not done. Phase 2 of the trailer build includes solar panel integration, planned for 2027. Battery power was the first step. Solar is how we cut the last remaining tie to grid power entirely.
Why This Matters to Me Personally
I'm an Eagle Scout. That's not a throwaway line. It's the reason any of this exists the way it does.
There's a principle in scouting that has stayed with me since I was a kid: leave it better than you found it. That applies to a campsite. It applies to a trail. And it applies to a business operating on the North Carolina coast, where the water you're five minutes from is the same water that plastic waste ends up in.
"Leave it better than you found it."A rule I learned as a Boy Scout. One I intend to keep for the rest of my life.
I wanted to prove something with Common Tides. That a small business can care deeply about quality and deeply about the place it operates. That those two things don't cancel each other out. Great espresso and a clean coastline aren't competing priorities. They're both part of what it means to do this right.
Being recognized by Plastic Ocean Project is meaningful to me because it's a Wilmington organization saying that a Wilmington business is living up to that standard. This is our town. These are our beaches. The Cape Fear coast is why people love living here, and it's why I chose to build Common Tides here instead of anywhere else.
What This Means for Our Customers
When you grab a coffee from Common Tides, a few things are true that might not be true at other stops:
- The cup in your hand will break down. It won't sit in a landfill for decades.
- The straw, if you use one, is compostable too.
- The trailer running behind me didn't burn a drop of gas to make your drink.
- The grounds from your espresso went into a compost bucket, not a trash bag.
None of that changes how the coffee tastes. But it does change what your coffee costs the world. And I think that matters. Especially in a coastal city where the distance between a parking lot drain and the Atlantic Ocean is shorter than most people realize.
A Note on Plastic Ocean Project
If you're not familiar with Plastic Ocean Project, they're worth knowing. They're based right here in Wilmington, they do real cleanup work, real education, and real advocacy to protect the Cape Fear coast and coastal communities worldwide. The OFE program is one of the ways they extend that mission into local businesses.
If you own a business in Wilmington and you're not certified yet, I'd encourage you to look into it. The process is straightforward and the accountability it creates is worth it, even if no one ever hands you a framed certificate.