Part 1 – Disposable Cups
I first came across
anti-plastic activism 20 years ago when our high school banned the use of foam
cups for all staff meetings - affecting over 115 people.
This
save-the-environment initiative -- spearheaded by our science dept. --
quickly expanded and required all staff to use only ceramic or glass mugs
on school property.
But within a year, we
learned that the amount of energy and material and labour and hot water and the
environmental harm from washing with soap made the life cycle impact of one
mug equivalent to 10,000 foam cups!
And methods already then
allowed foam cups to be recycled[i].
After all, they are made
from plastic, and all plastic come from petroleum or liquid natural gas, so it can be recycled into
various products[ii] and even fuel[iii].
In fact, foam has a
higher energy rating than coal and produces less harmful emissions than wood[iv].
However, we were not
allowed to go back to the superior, low cost foam cups - ideal for HOT and cold
drinks, easily stackable in small spaces, light weight and always sanitary.
We had to remain 'role
models' in the fight to save the planet.
Ever since, the mug
industry has seized the opportunity and expanded exponentially with mugs
galore: with witty or cute sayings, icon images, science fiction and other movie
and TV series tie-ins, holographic designs and even cups with images that
transform when filled with hot liquid.
My wife and I have
accumulated some 30 mugs as gifts for birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day,
Valentine's Day, graduations and retirement.
All thanks to the
misguided efforts to save the planet from foam cups!
And that did not include the fact a ceramic mug
once it chips or cracks or the handle breaks off cannot be recycled; and
when buried in landfill will never ever decompose!
Paper Cups
The similar, more recent
and growing pressure on coffee shops, fast food restaurants, etc. to switch to paper cups -- usually requiring an
extra paper ring to prevent burning one's fingers for hot drinks -- may seem
environmentally friendlier compared to foam, but it is NOT.
As reported by the
Boston Globe[v],
an in depth comparison study from the Netherlands found as follows:
·
To make 10,000 foam cups
as a byproduct from petroleum, 4,748 gallons of water are used. But
10,000 paper cups with sleeves uses 8,095
gallons ( = 70% MORE water), and the killing of 20,000,000 (yes, 20 MILLION)
trees. Yes, they are massive
tree killers!
·
Paper cups need plastic
coating and the “paper
industry uses chemicals, including chlorine dioxide, which can cause harm if it
leaves a factory in waste water.”
·
[Fears that foam cups also may leak out toxin chemicals and
benzene into the drinks they contain, especially when heated in a microwave has
never materialized. Trillions, yes over 1000 billion, of foam cups have been
used for years (and foam plated and containers as well) and governments would have
banned them long ago as health and safety risks if there was proof.]
·
As for the energy needed to transport raw materials to the factory,
10,000 foam cups use the equivalent of 450 pounds of coal.
But 10,000 paper cups and sleeves take up 542 pounds of coal ( = 20.4% MORE
water).
·
It takes 3.2
grams of petroleum to ship the raw materials to the
factory to make a foam cup. It
takes 4.1 grams of petroleum (= 28% MORE
petroleum) for each paper cup and sleeve – and this does not include the
plastic liner material.
·
As for greenhouse gas emissions, foam WINS again.
·
And for any business interested in making a profit,
a paper cup and sleeve costs 5 times as much as a foam cup.
·
So where do paper cups excel? In
landfill: it takes 20 years for a paper cup to decompose, while a foam
cup – according to the EPA – takes over one million years.
So, in
fact, FOAM is actually and by far the better choice.
As for
recycling, paper cups LOSE again. City
of Toronto (2.5 million people) has long recycled white foam cups and plates
and clam-shells but does NOT include paper cups in its Recycling program. Why?
Because
removing the plastic liner is difficult and, more importantly, there is no
after-market for the poor quality paper used[vi].
Finally,
the Boston Globe recommends a cup exchange program used in Freiburg, Germany,
where 100 participating coffee shops allow you to exchange your used, dirty (approved)
hard plastic cup for a similar clean cup the shop has properly washed. A onetime nominal fee is all you ever
pay. Again, the solution is PLASTIC.
And unless
that exchange cup collapses or shrinks to fold into a sanitary pouch that can
fit into a pocket, it is neither convenient nor practical as you are expected
to lug around a dirty cup 24/7.
So paper cups are NOT the
better way for numerous reasons; instead, it is the much maligned disposable FOAM cup that is by far the better eco-friendly choice.
[iii] See
https://www.cutfluff.com/single-post/5-Styrofoam-Facts
and see for mixing as an additive for diesel https://www.fastcompany.com/1277458/dissolving-styrofoam-biodiesel-makes-better-fuel
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