Several large companies, including Starbucks and Pepsi, are making strides in pushing more eco-friendly, recyclable and compostable cups.
Do you cringe every time you finish a meal at a restaurant and toss a disposable cup into the waste bin? You’re not alone. A recent study found that 94 percent of Americans are concerned about how their beverage purchases will affect the environment in the long term, and wish it were easier to recycle those dreaded throwaway cups. The good news is beverage companies are listening. Recyclable cups will be making an appearance in more restaurants around America, thanks in part to new efforts by PepsiCo.
According to the Clean Air Council, the average American office worker uses about 500 disposable cups annually. Styrofoam cups in particular present a troubling problem, with 25 billion ending up in landfills every year, and the material they’re made from – polystyrene – does not biodegrade. Polystyrene may keep your beverage insulated, but there are serious environmental concerns about the toxicity of its main component, Styrene, which pollutes the air during manufacturing and can leach out of polystyrene products into the food and beverages they contain.
Even paper cups are a problem, because the plastic resin liner that keeps them from disintegrating when in contact with liquids also renders them un-recyclable at most recycling facilities. Considering that Starbucks alone sells billions of beverages in these cups every year (not to mention the plastic lids and cardboard heat shields), the waste adds up all too quickly.
While efforts to increase awareness about the benefits of reusable cups have helped millions of Americans become more waste-conscious in their beverage drinking habits, there are times when reusable cups aren’t convenient or available. That’s when recyclable cups would come in handy for people grabbing a fast drink on the go.
Source: Mother Nature Network
By Stephanie Rogers