A recent survey conducted in The Korea Times office in Seoul is a good illustration of how badly some are addicted to paper cups.
On an average day, there are about 20 reporters in the news room. They were found to throw away a total of 242 paper cups in the span of six days, roughly 40 cups per day. The figure boils down to at least two paper cups per person per day.
Read more at www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/07/113_70355.html
Starbucks announced it will begin recycling coffee cups from its Chicago locations, according to a report in the Seattle Times. Beginning in the fall, it will send used cups from its Chicago stores to Green Bay where a Georgia Pacific paper mill will turn them into Starbucks napkins… Read full story
It’s good to see that something is getting done!
thebetacup: 60 Seconds To Save The World from the betacup on Vimeo.
The betacup’s goal: find the best ideas to eliminate paper cup consumption and help bring these ideas to life.
KTCC is happy to let it’s followers know about BetaCup. BetaCup strives to find a solution to the paper cup waste that is a result of our poor consumption habits.
To get involved, vote, and submit your own ideas for a new cup, visit www.jovoto.com/contests/drink-sustainably/landing.
Together we can find a solution!
Donate to a good cause and get this cup!
This eco-friendly thermal porcelain cup holds 14 ounces of your favorite beverage and is dishwasher and microwave safe. Cup features a leaf print design, and includes the WWF panda logo on one side and “We seek to save a planet, a world of life” quote on the other. The silicone band surrounding the cup protects your hand from hot or cold beverages. Look eco-chic while helping reduce wasteful consumption of throwaway cups. Take this with you the next time you make your coffee run!
Learn more about the WWF at www.worldwildlife.org.
Earth Day Festivities took place around the globe last week. In New York City, the Earth Fair was hosted outside of Grand Central Station.
Want to drink from a reusable cup, but worried about spilling your hot coffee all over you?
Fear no more, Mug Hugs are here!
Mug Hug is a reusable, flexible lid designed to fit medium sized mhttp://www.mug-hug.comugs. They had two purposes in mind when creating this product. First, to prevent spilling for mugs on the go for convenience. Second, to reduce the use of disposable paper cups and plastic lids that are filling up landfills around the globe.
Mug Hug is ideal for the office, commute, and for the home. Not only does it prevent spilling, but it keeps your drink warmer too!
A coworker passed this video on to me.
Gets the point across.
Disposable – The Billion Cup Blood Bath from Zac Whyte on Vimeo.
A much more creative way to use coffee cups…
Unfortunately, I don’t think any of the cups in this video were reused, but if you’re going to use a disposable cup, at least think of creative uses for it after (or before) your coffee is done…
Source: Mona latte: Da Vinci’s Lisa masterpiece recreated using cups of coffee, Daily Mail (UK)
Cute cartoon, read the blog post at NOVA – The Big Energy Gamble.
Last year, Starbucks CEO Howard Schults committed that Starbucks’ entire stock of coffe cups will be recyclable by 2012.
Starbucks’vice president of Global Responsibility, Ben Packard, invited 30 cup, cupstock and coating manufacturers, recyclers, waste managers and university researchers to Seattle this week to discuss creating recyclable coffee cups.
Some of the research presented showed that many of the cups are already recyclable to recover paper pulp. In fact, a coffee cup can be converted into a pizza box in just three days.
Starbucks is looking to implement a pilot program in Manhattan in which specialized bins will be placed to collect cups and paper bags, which will then be sent to Staten Island’s Pratt Industries for recycling.
The key to recyclability of paper cups is their material, as some (such as Starbucks’) are made of old corrugated cardboard (OCC), and others are mixed paper.
Mixed paper is a lower grade of paper that has less value when recycled. Although many of these cups are lined with wax for temperature control, this can be removed prior to recycling.
Panelists discussed the possibility of better labeling for these cups in regards to recyclability, with one suggesting that compostable cups be labeled with a brown stripe. North America is responsible for 60 percent of the 220 billion paper cups used globally each year.
Source: Reuters, earth911.com
Finally, a reusable cup for the photographer!
Get a reusable cup at 7-11 and a free coffee.
Contigo developed the AUTOSEAL technology, which automatically seals between sips, and has integrated the exclusive lid system into a line of travel mugs and bottles. The Contigo AUTOSEAL line of products are all FDA approved and BPA free.
“Now more than ever, people are trying to find ways to save money,” Sami Elsaden, CEO of Contigo said. “By forgoing a daily stop at a coffee shop, consumers can save up to $2,000 a year as well as reduce the use of Styrofoam and cardboard cups, which is ultimately good for the environment.”
Watch a video on how the University of Northern BC is celebrating Green Day by focusing on waste reduction. The Green Day organizers have adorned the ceilings with used disposable coffee cups from waste audits showing how there is too much waste.
C2C coffee cup takes the concept of cradle-to-cradle and applies it to the design of a coffee cup. The design team chose the disposable paper cup; the ‘C2C’ coffee cup is manufactured at the cafe from the waste stream of the cafe. Used coffee grounds are mixed with paper pulp and a polylactide resin (made from corn derived dextrose), then pressure-molded into shape.
The physical design itself originated from the wish of providing not only a directional feature to the cup, but also to provide a friendlier shape and more secure grip. C2C is fully biodegradable with its final elements being 100% compostable. Manufacturing of C2C provides for an animated feature in a cafe, since most of the process will be visible.
Thus the grounds used for “your” drink would make up “your” cup. However, “your” cup grounds content will actually be from someone else’s brew, since there will be a certain cycle delay, when taking mixing, forming, drying, and cooling into consideration. But technically, one brew makes its own cup.
Vancouver Art Gallery’s new exhibit, How Soon is Now: Contemporary Art from Here, brings together 34 British Columbia artists working in sculpture, painting, video, audio, architectural interventions, site-specific projects, performances and events.
The exhibit features the above piece by Sonny Assu called ,67 spun copper cups, grande size. Art takes on the disposable cup yet again.
Photographer Chris Jordan uses photography to illustrate the staggering scale of human consumption. In this series of pictures titled Paper Cups he depicts 410,000 paper cups – equal to the number of disposable hot-beverage paper cups used in the US every fifteen minutes.
Pretty shocking and appalling.
Partial zoom:
Detail at actual print size:
greenUpgrader has an article The Scourge of the Forest: Disposable Coffee Cups.
Read the article for more information on the damage caused by disposable cups and some good visuals.
Recycling drive proves tall order
Since November, Lisa Wilson at Brock University’s Science Stores has crossed paths with 36,592 paper coffee cups, which, when stacked, measure the height of 7.3 Schmon Towers, or about 370 metres.
It is hoped to encourage the proper disposal of these plastic cups, across campus, even after this initiative ends.
“Some of our goals are first, teach people to separate the lids, [which are] plastic recycling, from the cups, [which are] compostable.” said Wilson
“The second, diverting ‘good’ garbage from the landfill and lastly, I’m hoping that the visual effect of actually reaching the top of the tower might encourage people to switch to refillable mugs.
“Once the challenge is finished, there will be bins [around the school] with vinyl identification on them, so hopefully it will continue.”
A clip from the film that is (partly) about reusable cups (except the last skit). 
Coffee and Cigarettes, a film by Jim Jarmusch.
Modern life is rubbish: litter is everywhere on Dorset streets
An article on litter in the streets with a shot of another abandoned cardboard cup…
Fast food firms taken to task after survey of street litter
Keep Britain Tidy named the most littered brands in England as McDonald’s, Greggs, KFC and Subway. While types of litter around the country varied, in London coffee cups from a mixture of brands accounted for most litter.
Pledge to Kill the Cardboard Cup and keep your city streets clean of unnecessary waste.
The perfect gift for someone special! Designed to be sent like postcards, Postcups are microwave-safe white porcelain cups with a message on one side, such as “Miss You” or “Thinking of You”. The other side features a postcard design by Re Jin. Add a personal message and your recipient’s address – and it will be hand written it onto the cup and sent away.
Great design for a disposable cup!
At least it’s declaring where it’s going…
In response to the takeaway culture where disposable items make up a considerable proportion of containers used on a daily basis, LOTS design introduced an alternative take-away cup – Imprint – that contributes to the taste sensation and can be used for a long time, throughout the day and by all generations.
Imprint is a thermo cup made of double-wall china with a painted gold rim and a tight-fitting rubber lid. The series comes in 2 sizes and a variety of color combinations.
Read more at LOTS of Green.
