I'm curious what percentage of non-biodegradable waste is from cups and straws. I suspect there are much bigger fish to fry. It would be a bit more work and coordination but it seems that a standard set of 30-50 different metal/ceramic containers could serve most packaging purposes at grocery stores. If marketing/branding is an issue, some soy or other non-toxic ink could be used to print labels and decoration on the packaging with each re-use.
Coffee Cups Are Next
151–160 of 447 posts
Re: Coffee Cups Are Next
#152A former workplace of mine mandated that no-one was allowed to use re-usable coffee mugs at all. This was done because of the mass of dirty, moldy cups that seemed to fill every kitchenette in a multi-floor building. The business was a media organization and it seemed to me like reporters were the worst culprits. The company provided styrofoam cups which were consumed at a enormous rate, and this was deemed to be a b…
This same thing is unfolding in my office. They are getting rid of paper cups but no one washes their dishes. I don't understand what's wrong with paper cups? They are biodegradable.
If they have a plastic lining on the inside (for waterproofing) then they’re not
Re: Coffee Cups Are Next
#153The alternative- Customers make their own coffee?
Instead of driving to a starbucks, they- make coffee at home/work?
Is the taste of starbucks that much better that we need to drive to it, use all these extra materials, in the name of our morning drug Caffeine?
Re: Coffee Cups Are Next
#154I'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.
Pretending to be ignorant of externalities doesn't mean they stop existing
The solution is to create better conveniences, not to ban them like luddites and go back to the 18th century.
Also, first world problems.
Also, despite first world problems, first world has other more important problems that should be solved, like drug addicts, homelessness, and crime, maybe the people's council should focus on that instead of this?
Re: Coffee Cups Are Next
#155A former workplace of mine mandated that no-one was allowed to use re-usable coffee mugs at all. This was done because of the mass of dirty, moldy cups that seemed to fill every kitchenette in a multi-floor building. The business was a media organization and it seemed to me like reporters were the worst culprits. The company provided styrofoam cups which were consumed at a enormous rate, and this was deemed to be a b…
This same thing is unfolding in my office. They are getting rid of paper cups but no one washes their dishes. I don't understand what's wrong with paper cups? They are biodegradable.
They are still a huge waste, even if they are biodegradable.
Re: Coffee Cups Are Next
#156I get plastic bags... they are a nuisance that cause alotmof problems.
But the coffee cup thing is just dumb, probably less useful than even the plastic straw crusade. There is close to zero actual biodegrading happening in landfills. Just tax the underlying soft drinks if you have a beef with cup consumption.
Re: Coffee Cups Are Next
#157I'm curious what percentage of non-biodegradable waste is from cups and straws. I suspect there are much bigger fish to fry. It would be a bit more work and coordination but it seems that a standard set of 30-50 different metal/ceramic containers could serve most packaging purposes at grocery stores. If marketing/branding is an issue, some soy or other non-toxic ink could be used to print labels and decoration on the…
It is not always about the biggest, but easiest to replace. When getting people to do something they do not want to do, that is what you aim for.
Also doing what is possible, as to the impossible.
Re: Coffee Cups Are Next
#158What 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?
It already does happen in Australia.
Re: Coffee Cups Are Next
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
That's only true of you prioritize minimization of e-waste over personal convenience, which most (including me) do not. The regulation delay is exactly the problem: had politicians standardized micro-usb, we would still be on it rather than usb-c.
This is why we need regulation to enforce whats best for society over whats convenient for an individual in the short term.
Re: Coffee Cups Are Next
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
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, bec…
I would be wary of selection bias in the people who already use reusable containers. They might be more diligent in their sanitation than a larger population would be. Anyone in the food service business that is good, cares deeply about health inspections. I can foresee some problems with the plan. For example, you might get higher turnover because staff members are sick of cleaning dirty cups. It might take longer t…
Back under Advanced Socialism, we had public soda machines with public glasses which you had to wash yourself at the machine. We did not die out of glass-borne communicable diseases. I don't think the hygiene (or cup management) problem is quite as severe as you suspect it is.
