Disposable coffee cups are the order of the day in most coffee shops around the world.
Right?
Well, I’d like to share with you some disposable takeaway coffee cup facts to make you think.
In case you’re not aware, every year, the world produces 500 billion disposable coffee cups! That’s enough to wrap the earth almost 1,400 times!
But, have you ever thought about the effect of this?
Well, without bias, these coffee cups are not what you think.
Here’s why.
By Lilian.
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5 Takeaway Coffee Cup Facts Every Coffee Lover Should Consider
In Reality, Not Even 1% of the Cups are Recycled
They fooled you? Yes, they did. They don’t recycle these cups. Only 1 in 400 cups are recycled.
The reason is that, unlike what you’re made to believe, disposable coffee cups are not made from 100% paper.
The inside of each cup has a polyethylene layer to make the cup waterproof, ensuring it doesn’t leak.
It also provides extra insulation.
The layer is so well fused that it’s impossible to separate it.
Unfortunately, the polyethylene is plastic, meaning it will never decompose.
Adding salt to injury, it is non-recyclable.
Disposable Coffee Cup Waste Contributes Loads of Litter
In the UK alone, approximately 500,000 disposable coffee cups are littered every single day, which translates to around 180 million cups per year.
In the US, we dispose of 50 Billion coffee cups every year!
What’s more, the average coffee lover contributes 23 pounds of waste every year by disposing of one coffee cup per day.
Check around the on-street litter bins around your workplace or home and there’s no doubt you’ll find a few (if not loads of) disposable coffee cups.
Each Cup Costs You Cash
Well, I hope you don’t think your favorite coffee shop gets these cups for free.
No, they buy them too, which means that part of the price you pay for each cup of coffee goes to buying the takeaway cup. Right?
It is no wonder that some coffee shops give you discounts when you bring your own cup.
Let us now delve into the effects of these cups on human health and the environment.
The Cups Create Microplastics When They Decompose
When the polyethylene layer finally breaks down, it ends up as small pieces of plastics – microplastics.
Watch Blue Planet 2 and you’ll see that animals often mistake the tiny pieces of plastic for food.
Be it the big whales or the tiny planktons, researchers have found small pieces of plastic in their stomachs.
This is fatal for the animals, by and large for our ecosystem.
What about the effect of humans consuming the animals that have fed on microplastics?
Unfortunately, this is here with us.
A research conducted by Professor Thompson from the University of Plymouth School of Biological and Marine Sciences found that 1 in every 3 fish caught in the UK have plastic.
The Cups are Made from Virgin Trees
Most people think that the cups are made from paper, which is indeed true.
What they don’t know is that this paper is made from virgin trees that are harvested in bulk.
Shouldn’t this be a concern for coffee lovers who claim to be environmental conservation enthusiasts?
In the UK, for instance, they have to harvest at least 100,000 trees every year.
Isn’t this too much to make a product that lasts as long as it takes for you to slurp your latte?
To make matters worse, the production process is extremely energy consuming.
In fact, to make a single ton of paper, you need 98 tonnes of energy resources!
Is the Daily Use of Paper Coffee Cups Good for Human Health?
A recent study found that drinking hot beverages from a paper cup poses significant health risks for us.
Apparently, for the average person drinking 3 cups of coffee every day using a paper cup, they ingest 75,000 small microplastic particles that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
These particles are carriers for contaminants such as toxic heavy metals, water-repelling organic compounds, and much more.
Researchers exposed a paper coffee cup to hot liquid for 15 minutes.
They were shocked to find over 10 billion submicron-sized particles of heavy metals on the liners of the disposable cup.
Shocking, right?
Well, that’s not all.
Why are Disposable Coffee Cups Bad for the Environment?
Every year, more than 20 million virgin trees are cut down to produce the single-use coffee cups we use on a daily basis.
We all know that trees serve to absorb carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. So, when we cut down so many trees, the result is more CO2 in the atmosphere, whose direct effect is global warming.
What’s more, the coffee cups take up so much energy in the production process.
As stated earlier, most of them only end up in landfills because they’re unrecycleable.
So, we end up with tons of waste from these single-use paper cups.
Don’t forget that some of them find their way into the seas and ocean, get consumed by the marine animals which end up on our plates.
How about we protect our environment and the ecosystem by getting some reusable coffee cups?
Isn’t it Time to Consider Reusable Takeaway Coffee Cups?
Absolutely Yes!
You’ll be surprised that these cups have some amazing benefits.
- First and foremost, reusable coffee cups are sustainable. So, if you get one, you’ll not be part of the waste cycle that’s damaging our environment.
- Second, these cups have better heat retention scores, which means they’ll keep your coffee warm for a longer time than the disposable ones.
You can sip your latte/Americano at your own pace without the worry that it will get cold.
Just invest in a good quality one – remember it’s a one-time purchase – and you’ll enjoy your coffee for a few years.
Don’t forget that you’ll be saving on coffees you buy.
What’s more, these cups are cheaper in the long term and come in different styles, not like the plain old coffee cups.
What do you love about reusable takeaway coffee cups?
Photo by Olena Sergienko
