Coffee...Australians love it! 

 

However, the rapidly growing coffee culture has come at a huge environmental cost due to the increase in the use of disposable coffee cups.

 

WHAT’S THE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE

Here are some things you might not know about the disposable paper coffee cup:

·         It is lined with a petroleum-based plastic to prevent leakage.

·         It cannot be composted or recycled due to this plastic lining.

·         It consumes large amounts of natural resources in its manufacture.

·        Large amounts of climate-changing greenhouse gases are emitted in its manufacture and decomposition.

So for something that we use once and then throw away, there’s certainly a large cost to the environment.

WHAT ACTION CAN WE TAKE?

A change in habit is all that’s required to make an impact on this landfill consumer.  Simply take a reusable coffee mug/thermos/insulated bottle when you get your coffee to-go. 

The benefits of using a reusable stainless steel mug were measured in a study conducted by Sustainability Engineer Pablo Päster (According to www.sustainabilityissexy.com).  The study concluded that a stainless steel mug had to be reused only 24 times in order for the waste, natural resources, and damage done by green house gases in making the reusable mug, to break even with that done by producing a paper cup.  Considering that most reusable mugs are designed to be used for 3000 uses, the benefit to the environment of using reusable mugs is obviously enormous. 

So get yourself a reusable Insulated Klean Kanteen Mug from GreenUrLife TODAY and not only will you be helping to keep disposable cups out of landfill, your coffee will stay hot for longer – now that’s a buzz!

 

 

Sources used for this article 

http://www.metaefficient.com/bioplastics/innovation-biodegradeable-coffee-cups.html

http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/DFE2009_Disposable_Coffee_Cups

http://www.canterbury.nsw.gov.au/www/html/1989-sustainability-tip----bring-your-own-coffee-cup.asp

http://sustainabilityissexy.com/facts.html