Facts
- The Cardboard Cups used to hold hot beverages ARE NOT RECYCLABLE! Cups are laminated with a plastic resin called polyethylene. While this helps keep beverages warm and prevents the paper from becoming a soggy mess in your hands, this also prevents the cup from being recycled.
- Therefore, every paper cup that is manufactured and coated with plastic resin ends up in a landfill. Not only are the disposable paper coffee cups non-recyclable the cups ARE NOT MADE FROM RECYCLED MATERIAL. Instead, most cups are manufactured using 100% bleached virgin paperboard.
- So, why don’t manufacturers use recycled paper? Firstly, FDA regulations are strict when it comes to allowing recycled paper pulp to be in direct contact with food and beverages. Secondly, recycled paper isn’t strong enough to hold a liquid. Currently, Starbucks has begun to use cups made from 10% post-consumer materials, while the remaining 90% of the cup is composed of new paper. New alternatives are being developed which have a liner made from corn instead of petrochemicals.
- Manufacturing paper cups is EXTREMELY RESOURCE INTENSIVE. Manufacturing paper requires harvesting trees and creating wood chips. The chips are heavily washed to remove any dirt, and then mixed with more water and processed. The resulting paper pulp is dried and the fibers are pressed together to make paper. The entire process requires a substantial amount of water, energy, and of course, a lot of trees
For even more facts on cardboard cups, be sure to check out KTCC’s blog entry More Numbers.
These facts have been cited from Sustainability is Sexy: The Basic Problem with Coffee Cups – another great resource for ending the negative environmental impacts on our planet caused by disposable coffee cups.
