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Coffee Cups Are Next

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Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#51

Post by corodra »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #37
corodra wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Floridan here. All coastal bars/restaurants must have paper straws. Generally, they're single drink use. You might get a second glass worth if you drink fast. I don't really notice a wax on them. If they happen to have any.... they might as well not bother. I'm a born/raised Floridian, so I grew up on all the propaganda about ocean life getting tortured by soda rings, straws and other garbage. One of my transplant fr…

What's the chance of it getting to the ocean when I'm properly throwing it away? Also they apparently all use photo-degradable plastic since 30 years ago.

Bars and restaurants near the ocean. Thus, it's people with their drinks that walk near the ocean and are assholes.

Plus, straws blow in the wind by decent and fair accidents.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#52

Post by loeg »

stevenjohns wrote: post #46
mattigames wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you don't know but people around the world like to point to SF as examples of places that prohibited plastic bottles, maybe for locals the real issues are the ones you mention but in the big picture to stop using one-time plastics and similar pollutants are the real issues.

As an Australian, I have images of homelessness whenever SF is mentioned. I didn't even know that SF prohibited plastic bottles and I've never heard anyone say that. I'd also take a position that homelessness is the real issue in SF and not disposable coffee cup usage. EDIT: reading about the plastic bottle ban in SF[0], it appears that it's very limited > The new regulations prohibit the sale of plastic bottles at e…

> As an Australian, I have images of homelessness whenever SF is mentioned. I didn't even know that SF prohibited plastic bottles and I've never heard anyone say that.

Ditto, but I'm from Washington (just a hop and a skip across Oregon from California).

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#53

Post by WheelsAtLarge »

SapporoChris wrote: post #34

I was in Seoul last month. The McDonalds there had plastic coffee mugs and there was a bin for the mugs where the trays are returned and trash is disposed. Of course, normal disposable cup was available for to go orders. The major issue is cost of course. Disposable cups are a cheap solution. As long as they remain cheap and there are not other compelling reasons, few companies are going to be making any changes. I'v…

The simple and impactful solution is charging for the cup. Here in CA, we have to pay 10 cents per grocery bag . I could buy a few thousand of them over my lifetime and it would not impact me very much but somehow I can't get myself to pay the 10 cents, since it's going to end up in the trash, so I carry my reusable bags to the store all the time.

A solution that would really work would be to band cities from exporting their trash to other cities without regards as to how it gets disposed. People would find a way to recycle. But I know it's wishful thinking.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#54

Post by caf »

This article was entirely worth it just for this bit of (little-known, at least to me!) information buried in a footnote:

Compostables need the free flow of air to break down. Because landfills are sealed to prevent leakage, even a cup designed to break down quickly doesn't get the air circulation it needs to do so.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#55

Post by pg_bot »

If you don't think the people who work at these companies care about making better cups, read the following article.[0] There is a big opportunity for making a better disposable cup, but there are many engineering hurdles to jump over.

- The cup has to retail for 17 cents.

- It has to support a lid that is resealable.

- It has to tip over and not spill.

- It has to handle high temperatures.

- It can't alter the taste of the liquid inside.

- It has to be biodegradable.

- It can't catastrophically fail if the liquid is left inside for too long.

Seems like a tough challenge to me.

[0]: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/315159

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#56

Post by [deleted] »

HeWhoLurksLate wrote: post #36
chrisseaton wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK there is a chain called Costa where the in-house mug only comes in one size, and it's a thimble - much smaller than the larger take-away cup. So you end up asking for a take-away cup even though you're staying in and they have mugs available.

So you're saying the replacement has to be good or people won't use it? That's preposterous! /s

[deleted]

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#57

Post by mises »

alexvaut wrote: post #48

What about returning refillable standard cups ? You return them dirty, starbucks/mac do wash them and everytime you want a coffee you get a clean one. It existed in France for glass bottles in the last century, it's still like that in Belgium for beers (and works very well). I don't see any problem to apply it for coffee. You can even think of little stickers of the brand from where you get your coffee, those sticker…

This will not happen; each firm will benefit from only accepting their own proprietary cups. Also, what about sizes?

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#59

Post by mises »

I'm not sure I like this trend. Who really wants to carry around an empty coffee cup wherever he goes? Or a metal straw? Or re-useable bags? Utensils will be next. There is a reason we have so much disposable stuff: unparalleled convenience.
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