Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Coffee Cups Are Next

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 447 posts

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#251

Post by kristopolous »

zikzak wrote: post #170
ClassyJacket wrote: post #168

Good. They are a plague. However, I admit that occasionally, if I've forgotten my cup or couldn't bring it, I still use them. Rarely, but it happens. The solution I want to see, for both coffee cups and shopping bags - is reusable shared containers. I don't want to have to bring my bags to the supermarket. It's not just a matter of laziness or forgetfulness - sure, sometimes I forget. But it's also a matter of abilit…

Shopping bags need to be washed, too. Meat juices, being set down on dirty surfaces (bus stop, muddy driveway), left for a week in a house with pests or vermin, etc. Most people are not going to want to reuse someone else's reusable bag without laundering.

Flipping it inside out every time would solve most of these problems. The scraps would come out and thinks would get a chance to evaporate.

It's not a luxury product solution, sure. But if I was traveling to a poor country and everyone was doing it, I'd consider it clever and just go along with it.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#252

Post by 9HZZRfNlpR »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #221
seer wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A genuine question - can’t you buy a stack of plastic bags and just bring some of them with you? When they introduced the ban on plastic bags in my country, it was more a ban on supermarkets selling them alongside your normal purchase, but you still can buy a stack of a few hundred in speciality shops, and just use that. And if you forget to bring your own you can always buy the pristine reusable ones at a small cost…

One of the issues is that most disabled people are also poor. Their disability simultaneously imposes extra expenses and tends to limit earning capacity. Most of the replies here are genuinely not interested in understanding the reasons this stuff is a hot button topic in disabled circles. I'm basically being grilled on the assumption that: A. I'm too stupid to have thought of any obvious solutions being proposed her…

But plastic bags in bulk are very very cheap. For American living standards it's not even worth a discussion. I'm very sorry you have to live with that horrible disease but the solution is very simple.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#253

Post by bubblewrap »

kristopolous wrote: post #226
bsaul wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this story i keep hearing about tap water beeing just as good as bottle one is really starting to get on my nerves. people don’t spend their money and carry huge loads of water bottles if they can have the equivalent for « free » at home. If they do it’s because the tap water infrastructure (as a whole, up to the kitchen’s tap) alter the taste and quality of the water badly enough, even in the cases where the origina…

Then put a $50 filter at the tap and you're good for probably $25,000 of bottled water. It's marketing that drives the preference. That's why most chronic bottled water drinkers I know surround their life with other bullshit irrelevant products. It's the same mechanics

Filters seem like a lot of hassle, though. You have to keep them clean and exchange them on a regular basis. I don't really trust that solution.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#254

Post by collyw »

bsaul wrote: post #223
cstrat wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This just hurts to read... It is almost as bad as the somewhat inexplicable growth in bottled water in places where tap water is perfectly acceptable. In fact many of the branded bottles of water are not spring water but bottled tap water.

this story i keep hearing about tap water beeing just as good as bottle one is really starting to get on my nerves. people don’t spend their money and carry huge loads of water bottles if they can have the equivalent for « free » at home. If they do it’s because the tap water infrastructure (as a whole, up to the kitchen’s tap) alter the taste and quality of the water badly enough, even in the cases where the origina…

They do. In Scotland the tap water is really good (unlike where I live now). There are still large sections of the supermarket with bottled water.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#255

Post by scotty79 »

bsaul wrote: post #223
cstrat wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This just hurts to read... It is almost as bad as the somewhat inexplicable growth in bottled water in places where tap water is perfectly acceptable. In fact many of the branded bottles of water are not spring water but bottled tap water.

this story i keep hearing about tap water beeing just as good as bottle one is really starting to get on my nerves. people don’t spend their money and carry huge loads of water bottles if they can have the equivalent for « free » at home. If they do it’s because the tap water infrastructure (as a whole, up to the kitchen’s tap) alter the taste and quality of the water badly enough, even in the cases where the origina…

> If they do it’s because the tap water infrastructure (as a whole, up to the kitchen’s tap) alter the taste and quality of the water badly enough...

That's not it. People don't drink tap water because they don't believe it's safe.

People who don't drink tap water usually have no trouble drinking it after it's boiled.

And non carbonated bottled water tastes just like tap water and you couldn't tell the two apart if there were from taps and brands you are not familiar with.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#256

Post by gambiting »

collyw wrote: post #254
bsaul wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this story i keep hearing about tap water beeing just as good as bottle one is really starting to get on my nerves. people don’t spend their money and carry huge loads of water bottles if they can have the equivalent for « free » at home. If they do it’s because the tap water infrastructure (as a whole, up to the kitchen’s tap) alter the taste and quality of the water badly enough, even in the cases where the origina…

They do. In Scotland the tap water is really good (unlike where I live now). There are still large sections of the supermarket with bottled water.

Pretty much anywhere you go outside of larger cities in Scotland(if you like outdoorsy stuff like I do) has warnings that tap water is supplied directly from the nearest stream/river/lake and is unsafe to drink untreated. I'm perfectly happy to drink tap water nearly anywhere in the UK but any time we go camping in Scotland bottled water is a must because safe tap water is a rarity.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#257

Post by Dylan16807 »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #221
seer wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A genuine question - can’t you buy a stack of plastic bags and just bring some of them with you? When they introduced the ban on plastic bags in my country, it was more a ban on supermarkets selling them alongside your normal purchase, but you still can buy a stack of a few hundred in speciality shops, and just use that. And if you forget to bring your own you can always buy the pristine reusable ones at a small cost…

One of the issues is that most disabled people are also poor. Their disability simultaneously imposes extra expenses and tends to limit earning capacity. Most of the replies here are genuinely not interested in understanding the reasons this stuff is a hot button topic in disabled circles. I'm basically being grilled on the assumption that: A. I'm too stupid to have thought of any obvious solutions being proposed her…

Let's back up a bit.

Earlier, you made a post where the whole end chunk was about how going without plastic bags assumes the use of a car.

Then someone disagreed, with detailed examples about how it's not dependent on a car.

You interpreted this as condescension and not trying to understand you. What the hell? They were disagreeing with a part of your argument that wasn't about you at all, since you don't have a car.

They weren't dismissing you because of anything you are.

Also, being able to name a way a policy hurts some particular poor or disabled person doesn't mean it's overall bad for that group. For example: Plastic bags can hurt some poor people that can't easily use alternatives. But when bags aren't free then groceries themselves will be slightly cheaper. This will benefit a different subset of poor people.

Sometimes other people want to add nuance, too. Disagreement with part of what you say is not dismissing you.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#258

Post by gpvos »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #172
zeta0134 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I bought mulled red wine (gluewine sp?) in a christmas market in Germany this last winter. They sell you a proper coffee-type-mug to drink it from, for 6 euros (about US$7), which you can return when you're done and they'll refund you. I kept mine, it's a nice souvenir of Cologne and I drink my coffee from it every morning :) If you had to pay, say $10 for a proper coffee mug to have your take-away coffee in, but the…

Re sp: Glühwein.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#259

Post by flarg »

By using disposable cups, aren't coffee shops extracting value from the environment but not paying for the privilege? Surely the correct answer is to ban disposable cups and let the market decide who survives? My local sit down cafe does very well with reusable ceramic mugs. Why should the likes of Starbucks get special financial assistance from the environment when the cafe doesn't need it?

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#260

Post by scotty79 »

sumedh wrote: post #215
Stratoscope wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> door handles are pretty gross. Indeed they are. I am probably weird, but when I walk into our building I have a paper towel in my hand to grab the door handle. In fact there are two door handles, one from the parking lot and one into the building, so I use one side of the paper towel first, then fold it in half with a clean side on the outside and use that for the building door handle. Similarly at the cafeteria. I…

> I seem to be one of the few people in the office who hasn't been out with a bad cold this year. Probably because your immune system is good?

Not necessarily. Cold viruses are transmitted from objects touched by sick people recently by your own hands onto your face.

If he successfully avoids touching common objects and surfaces this is probably the cause that he didn't caught the cold because that's exactly how you get it.

Post reply on HN