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Coffee Cups Are Next

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Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#111

Post by CoolGuySteve »

zeta0134 wrote: post #70
pg_bot wrote: post #55

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…

It's worth pointing out that the obvious alternative, reusable to-go cups, need to solve an additional set of challenges: - Must NOT violate sanitization of the work area; cups provided by customers should not pose any health risks to workers or other customers. - Should be durable enough to survive repeated visits - Either the reusable cup must conform to a standard size, baristas need a way to measure liquids consi…

Didn't we already solve this with recyclable glass and deposits? Beer bottles at least have worked this way my whole life.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#112

Post by bArray »

pg_bot wrote: post #55

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…

> - The cup has to retail for 17 cents.

Like plastic bags in supermarkets, can't one just put the onus on the customer to pay the cost of the container if they don't bring their own?

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#113

Post by vsnf »

avinium wrote: post #76
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…

There's a couple of startups in Australia doing exactly that (I can't recall their names, though, so I can't say whether they're successful or not).

HuskeeCup is one of them. Their cups are pretty neat, being made from coffee waste.

The other, bigger, one there is KeepCup, but I don't have any experience with them.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#114

Post by balfirevic »

chomp wrote: post #77
lopmotr wrote: post #17

Surely plastic waste is a local problem for only some places? America has no shortage of empty land for landfills, but perhaps India or Singapore has more of a struggle to put it all somewhere. I live in a country with plenty of wasteland close to my city, and the landfills are well managed to prevent leaching, but people are still really passionate about not using them for plastic. Nobody seems to be able to explain…

>Nobody seems to be able to explain why except to refer to the Pacific garbage patch, which isn't caused by us It's probably caused by us in part. The US ships a huge amount of trash to Asia. [1] In fact, recycling as we know it in many places in the US only works by shipping it to Asia. For example, my city had problems when China created new recycling processing rules, which altered the economics of its recycling p…

So... If you want to help the environment, you should not separate your plastic waste and instead put it with the general garbage so it ends up safely in a landfill. Honestly, I myself can't tell if I'm serious.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#115

Post by baroffoos »

wemdyjreichert wrote: post #86
belltaco wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is where regulation can step in, like how the EU regulated standard phone chargers.

As far as I'm aware, the most the EU has done is look closely at doing it (most recently in 2018). One could argue that Lightning ports are better (particularly when compared to micro usb), and Apple seems to be slowly switching to usb-c. A standard charger would a. prohibit fast charging technologies or b. "pick the winner" with respect to such technologies. It would almost certainly slow or halt the use of newer fa…

One slightly worse but standard charger is a better situation than loads of incompatible chargers especially when you consider environmental impact. My main concern would be avoiding blocking progress where a new standard is built which is better but we can't move over to it because of regulation.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#116

Post by baroffoos »

mc32 wrote: post #109

Disposable cups at least are usually mostly paper... except for the cold drinks of the ones with fuzzy insulation. Deal with disposable water bottles. And while we’re at it the proliferation of Amazon shipping boxes.

Disposable coffee cups and there lids seem to make up most of the trash I see on the side of the road. Fast food boxes and cups being the other major one.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#117

Post by defterGoose »

Camillo wrote: post #42

I honestly don't see why this is a problem. I use my straw, or my coffee cup, or whatever, and I throw it in a trash can. It's not going to hurt any marine mammals unless you, the city government, go and dump it into the sea. So don't do that. If you can no longer put your trash on a barge to China, put it on a train instead and bury it somewhere in the enormous deserts that cover one third of the country. I don't wa…

Nothing, whatever, could be wrong with me. The world must be as it is, logically. Why try to improve? And if you say we must, I'll question, flail, pout, and then call it unjust.

Don't tell me it's my fault, for I just got here. I'll blame it on past people, maybe a peer. My life is just fine, and if others' are not, Well, life's just unfair, they deserve what they got!

Do it for children, you'll say, and I'll sneer, How could I harm someone that isn't yet here? I cant be to blame for what their life might be. What have future generations e'er done for me?

I'll mine all the minerals, cut down all the trees. Bespoil the air, then move on to the seas. What difference make it? I've earned what I've got, and nothing was given for which I've not fought.

And isn't this precisely what Darwin taught? May the best man win, and take all of the pot! I'm captain, o captain of this ship called home. But I'm tired and hot now. Please, leave me alone.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#118

Post by Consultant32452 »

snowwindwaves wrote: post #81
wetpaws wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Returned cups practically scream "biohazard" in all caps.

Have you never drank from a glass or eaten off a plate or used cutlery in a restaurant? Seems like a solved problem.

I would be concerned about what horrible things a person might do to those cups outside the restaurant. Perhaps this is unfounded, but I assume this would require commercial dish washers to be upgraded (which I'm not opposed to).

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#119

Post by tptacek »

SllX wrote: post #92
tptacek wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How big a deal could the sanitization thing really be? Every coffee shop I've been to, including Starbucks, will fill pretty much any cup you give them. The only rule I'm aware of is that they're not supposed to handle the lids. Apropos nothing much, my brother owns a coffee shop in suburban Chicago, and their clientele is mostly local; they have a whole collection of old mugs, which they let customers take with them…

You shouldn’t be downvoted for this, you’re absolutely correct about bringing your own cups.

Thanks!

A bit of friendly advice: voting on HN is a stochastic process, and by the time I saw this comment, it had already been upvoted many times. This is one of the reasons the guidelines ask not to comment on voting (but not the most important reason).

I have trouble with this too! A sort-of-obvious trick: instead of discussing whether something should be downvoted, say you upvoted it and why. "I upvoted this, because every cafe I've visited fills third party cups too" says the same thing without litigating the vote, and also emphasizes the new information you're adding.

SNOOT MODE OFF!

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#120

Post by sehugg »

caf wrote: post #50
dharma1 wrote: post #39

What's the best reusable travel mug you've used? Easy to wash, good looking, lightweight, durable. Those stainless steel double wall ones any good?

Easily this one: https://www.thermos.com/drink/mugs-tumblers/genuine-thermos-...

Yeah, these seem to get less filthy than Yeti tumblers. For those who tend to take small sips at regular intervals, insulated is the way to go.
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