INVEST IN YOUR OWN COFFEE CUP
If you start every morning with a steamy cup, a quick tabulation can
show you that the waste is piling up. Twenty million trees are cut down every year just for the manufacture of paper cups. Invest in a reusable cup, which
not only cuts down on waste, but keeps your beverage hot for a much
longer time. Most coffee shops will happily fill your own cup, and many
even offer you a discount in exchange!
Paper coffee cups and other disposable containers make up 18 percent of
America's garbage. Replacing paper coffee cups with reusable mugs can
help reduce waste and environmental impact.
If you grab your coffee on the go, you create a
lot of waste for that coffee-loving habit. Even if you try to go the
green route and recycle your cups, those disposable coffee cups aren’t
as recyclable as you might think. Come on, java-lover! If you haven’t
started using your own reusable tumbler for your daily coffee, why not?
These reasons should convince you.
1. In a word: Styrofoam
Americans throw away about 25 billion
Styrofoam coffee cups every year, according to the Environmental
Protection Agency. If you do anything to eco-ize your coffee routine, do
this one: Resist grabbing a Styrofoam cup to hold your morning brew.
This bad boy is the worst-of-the-worst when it comes to disposable
coffee cups. Made from polystyrene, a type of plastic derived from
petroleum, Styrofoam cups never fully degrade. That Styrofoam cup you
drank your favorite brew out of this morning will still be around 500
years from now.
2. Paper isn’t as eco as you think
Your eco-loving heart may not feel quite so bad if you reach for a
disposable paper cup to hold your coffee. After all paper degrades
quickly and doesn’t harm the environment, right? Unfortunately, that
disposable paper cup the barista handed you isn’t made of paper only.
Disposable paper coffee cups are lined with polyethylene, a type of
plastic. This coating prevents your cup from turning to mush while you
enjoy your favorite
latte, but it also means these cups can’t be easily recycled.
Besides their difficulty to recycle, paper cups also pose a
sustainability issue. Think about the energy used to simply create the
cups. And,
twenty million trees are cut down every year just for the manufacture of paper cups.
3. Filtered out
Although brewing a pot of java at home can save some costs on the
environment (and your budget), you still create a bit of unnecessary
waste with that paper coffee filter. Just think about how many filters
your java addiction fuels. One a day? Two? Three? Sure, you can
compost that filter, but why not stop the waste entirely? Instead, choose a reusable coffee filter for your machine.
4. Problems with plastic
We’re no fans of plastic at Organic Authority, and that includes
disposable plastic cups. Even if they have a tasty iced coffee drink
inside them. Most plastic iced coffee cups are made from plastic #5,
which isn’t readily recyclable at many curbside-
recycling
programs. That means most disposable plastic cups end up clogging a
landfill. It’s just not worth that caffeine jolt. If you need your iced
coffee fix, bring in your own reusable tumbler to your favorite coffee
shop.
5. Coffee sleeves: The unnecessary add on
Sure, coffee sleeves prevent your fingertips from burning on that
piping hot coffee cup, but that’s nothing that your own reusable mug
can’t handle. That little cardboard sleeve may recycle easily, but it
still means pointless waste. Go sleeveless!
Brought to you by the home improvement energy-efficiency professionals,
House Smart Home Improvements, Surrey BC. Serving Vancouver and the lower mainland. Replacement Windows, Doors, Furnaces, Heat Pumps and more.
http://www.housesmarthomeimprovements.com
Call Us Today for a Free In-Home Estimate: 604-585-2020
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