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This same thing is unfolding in my office. They are getting rid of paper cups but no one washes their dishes. I don't understand what's wrong with paper cups? T

This same thing is unfolding in my office. They are getting rid of paper cups but no one washes their dishes. I don't understand what's wrong with paper cups? They are biodegradable.

bobbylarrybobby 8y ago
If they have a plastic lining on the inside (for waterproofing) then they’re not
- ihuman 8y ago
  According to the article they are, but only if you have a machine to separate the wax lining.
  - manicdee 8y ago
    If you have the machine, and the cup is in pristine condition (ie: hasn’t been used). Outside those conditions, “disposable” coffee cups of all types lead to long-term pollution.
  - Steve44 8y ago
    The standard paper coffee cups are about 92% paper and 8% PE for the waterproof lining. Come compostable cups have a lining made from a form of PLA and are, in theory, compostable under the right commercial conditions. The PE lined cups can be recycled, the UK currently has capacity to recycle all the 2.5 billion cups we use annually.
megaremote 8y ago
They are still a huge waste, even if they are biodegradable.
- chrisco255 8y ago
  Biodegradable materials get reabsorbed by the environment by definition. They're also recycleable. For instance, cardboard breaks down within two months.
  - kristopolous 8y ago
    And how were they sourced? How were they manufactured? How did they get to the point of consumption? How were they packaged when they arrived? How do they get to the garbage site? You have to include all the steps of how it got from tree to your hand and your hand back into the Earth. There's still plenty of pollution in that process even if the object itself isn't part of it.
    - gedy 8y ago
      > And how were they sourced? How were they manufactured? How did they get to the point of consumption? Like it's better from reusable cups? Basically will likely be ceramic, plastic, and metal from China, hauled across the ocean in some hugely polluting ship. No thanks.
      - kristopolous 8y ago
        zero is currently unachievable, fine. But something that reduces the footprint by 99% shouldn't be discarded because it's 1% away from perfection. I have a zojirushi mug that lasts about 2-3 years. I use it daily and keep it in my bag. It's been in 8 countries this year alone. It probably saves about 600 or so cups so even if it is 10 times more energy to build the canister I have it's still 98% less aggregate energy. A reduction of 2 orders of magnitude is quite substantial. The gains here from simply using a reusable cup are equivalent to say, getting a car that got 3000 mpg but had some minor inconvenience such as needing 3 minutes to warm up when you turned it on.
    - chrisco255 8y ago
      From mix of recycled and new trees. Trees which are farmed in the U.S. and sustainably managed. And trees which, by the way, absorb carbon.
9HZZRfNlpR 8y ago
They don't if there's no recycling going on in your area. As the article writes if it goes to landfill, it gets packed tightly together. Without oxygen it doesn't matter what is it made of.
maccard 8y ago
> I don't understand what's wrong with paper cups? They are biodegradable. Firstly, they require quite a lot of water and energy to produce and bleach, especially compared to a styrofoam cup. Secondly, they are still wasteful. Using a glass cup costs less after about 20 uses. Thirdly, biodegradable is being flung around as a solution, but it only is if you actually dispose of the waste correctly. if it goes to landfill, chances are it won't biodegrade in any reasonable timeframe. Also, biodegradable materials degrade usually into CO2, which is what we're trying to prevent from escaping in the first case.

This same thing is unfolding in my office. They are getting rid of paper cups but no one washes their dishes. I don't understand what's wrong with paper cups? They are biodegradable.

bobbylarrybobby 8y ago

If they have a plastic lining on the inside (for waterproofing) then they’re not

ihuman 8y ago
According to the article they are, but only if you have a machine to separate the wax lining.
- manicdee 8y ago
  If you have the machine, and the cup is in pristine condition (ie: hasn’t been used). Outside those conditions, “disposable” coffee cups of all types lead to long-term pollution.
- Steve44 8y ago
  The standard paper coffee cups are about 92% paper and 8% PE for the waterproof lining. Come compostable cups have a lining made from a form of PLA and are, in theory, compostable under the right commercial conditions. The PE lined cups can be recycled, the UK currently has capacity to recycle all the 2.5 billion cups we use annually.

megaremote 8y ago

They are still a huge waste, even if they are biodegradable.

chrisco255 8y ago
Biodegradable materials get reabsorbed by the environment by definition. They're also recycleable. For instance, cardboard breaks down within two months.
- kristopolous 8y ago
  And how were they sourced? How were they manufactured? How did they get to the point of consumption? How were they packaged when they arrived? How do they get to the garbage site? You have to include all the steps of how it got from tree to your hand and your hand back into the Earth. There's still plenty of pollution in that process even if the object itself isn't part of it.
  - gedy 8y ago
    > And how were they sourced? How were they manufactured? How did they get to the point of consumption? Like it's better from reusable cups? Basically will likely be ceramic, plastic, and metal from China, hauled across the ocean in some hugely polluting ship. No thanks.
    - kristopolous 8y ago
      zero is currently unachievable, fine. But something that reduces the footprint by 99% shouldn't be discarded because it's 1% away from perfection. I have a zojirushi mug that lasts about 2-3 years. I use it daily and keep it in my bag. It's been in 8 countries this year alone. It probably saves about 600 or so cups so even if it is 10 times more energy to build the canister I have it's still 98% less aggregate energy. A reduction of 2 orders of magnitude is quite substantial. The gains here from simply using a reusable cup are equivalent to say, getting a car that got 3000 mpg but had some minor inconvenience such as needing 3 minutes to warm up when you turned it on.
  - chrisco255 8y ago
    From mix of recycled and new trees. Trees which are farmed in the U.S. and sustainably managed. And trees which, by the way, absorb carbon.

9HZZRfNlpR 8y ago

They don't if there's no recycling going on in your area. As the article writes if it goes to landfill, it gets packed tightly together. Without oxygen it doesn't matter what is it made of.

maccard 8y ago

> I don't understand what's wrong with paper cups? They are biodegradable. Firstly, they require quite a lot of water and energy to produce and bleach, especially compared to a styrofoam cup. Secondly, they are still wasteful. Using a glass cup costs less after about 20 uses. Thirdly, biodegradable is being flung around as a solution, but it only is if you actually dispose of the waste correctly. if it goes to landfill, chances are it won't biodegrade in any reasonable timeframe. Also, biodegradable materials degrade usually into CO2, which is what we're trying to prevent from escaping in the first case.