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Coffee Cups Are Next

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Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#321

Post by sampo »

carlob wrote: post #294

As a European I really don't get take-out cups, in most Western Europe there are two options: either you have the 3 minutes it takes to sip on a cappuccino or hot tea, or you drink an espresso standing (both in a ceramic cup). If you see someone walking around with a pint of hot beverage, it's a safe bet they are American. I heard some American friend that it's part of American culture to control climate: drinks must…

> either you have the 3 minutes it takes to sip on a cappuccino or hot tea, or you drink an espresso standing

It's more about having a drink to sip on, when you're driving in your car to work, than about having or not having 3 minutes to sit in a cafe.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#322

Post by 01100011 »

acchow wrote: post #233
01100011 wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's wrong with styrofoam, assuming it is disposed of properly? Does it cause problems when tossed into a landfill? I think styrofoam is actually pretty good, per unit of source material, because it is expanded so much.

Styrofoam essentially lasts forever. The planet has finite landfill space. Also, not everything ends up in the landfill but ends up polluting our oceans instead. Unlike paper which will eventually decompose in the ocean, styrofoam will just pile up.

Landfills are storage units and will likely turn into vast repositories of useful materials when we have the energy and technology to sort through them. What is wrong with styrofoam piling up?

According to wikipedia, styrofoam doesn't essentially last forever.

Also, what's with the downvotes for asking a question? This place really seems to be going the way of reddit. Too bad... was a nice place to discuss the facts for a while. Apologies for making anyone question dogma.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#323

Post by tinus_hn »

rjf72 wrote: post #237
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.

To take things from a different perspective, I find people judging what others ought consider acceptable to be inexplicable. I find people buying $200 sneakers that offer no significant performance improvement over much cheaper alternatives to be 'inexplicable.' I find people buying $1000 phones when a $200 phone would perform literally 100% of a purchaser's tasks to 100% acceptability, to be 'inexplicable'. I even f…

Personal choice is a right but uselessly destroying the environment we share is not your right.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#324

Post by kristopolous »

xorfish wrote: post #309
kristopolous wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

How do you spend $25'000 on bottled water? Where I'm from it costs 16.5 cents per liter. That includes a 2 cent tax for recycling the PET Bottle. $25'000 is more than you need in several lifetimes. But then again, tab water here is excellent and also cool. So I don't see a reason why I should transport bottled water. It is much more convenient and cheaper.

There's not very expensive filtration systems rated for 100,000 gallons.

The standard kirkland bottled water you see in the US in the standard 80 unit packs would run you $195,000 for that.

Municipal water would be about $1,500 for that + $150 filter.

It's a 99.2% cheaper option. Oh right and the 1.6 million water bottles you'd not have produced, right.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#325

Post by wccrawford »

Nition wrote: post #285
lxmorj wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just mobile or is there really not a single picture of the cups on their site?

This sort of thing seems to be getting more common and I don't know why. Lots of software websites without a single screenshot. Yet a photo/screenshot can often tell you more than all the text.

I'm guessing it's because they haven't actually got anything yet. They have 2 images on their front page with the number of cups saved, and they're different amounts. They even use stock images of paper cups in one of the photos instead of their own cup.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#326

Post by jamesb93 »

To me this thread encapsulates why over engineering is bad. We don't need complex solutions to the problem of re-usable cups. We don't need an external company that will sanitise a returnable mug for you. The solution is right in front of everyone - buy a reusable container/mug/cup, fill it up, clean it when you're done. It isn't hard.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#327

Post by rorykoehler »

x38iq84n wrote: post #317
ploika wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's ironic that you're calling non-disposable items garbage. Genuine question, because everyone's life is different, is it really that big a deal? I bring shopping bags with me when I go grocery shopping. They're more comfortable to carry than the disposable plastic ones. Often they just lie in the boot of the car where they don't take up much space. The backpack I bring to work is big enough to fit the handful of t…

It still is garbage, only some people demanded more resources to be spent on making the items so they can be claimed reusable. In order to follow the movement I would need to carry a backpack of some sort, all the time and all places, or be ready to pay up. I would need to use probably more plastic bags than today, just to prevent spills and contamination from the coffee cups and straws. Gone would be freedom to chan…

I agree re Asia but I don't think it's an either or situation. I also don't like carrying a cup which is why I think there needs to be a german style pfand system for cups. Straws I can live without completely if necessary. Shopping bags the same. Often I just stack the goods up and tuck them under my arm. Regarding the disabled aspect I reckon everyone has to adjust according to their circumstances whoever they are. The whole system shouldn't change to accommodate edge cases that can be accommodated in another acceptable way. I.E. of course you need to install elevators and ramps everywhere because there is no other acceptable solution but straws... I think that requires a bit of flexibility and effort on the part of the disabled to work with the constraints of the system for the sake of improving the planet.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#328

Post by Brotkrumen »

sampo wrote: post #321
carlob wrote: post #294

As a European I really don't get take-out cups, in most Western Europe there are two options: either you have the 3 minutes it takes to sip on a cappuccino or hot tea, or you drink an espresso standing (both in a ceramic cup). If you see someone walking around with a pint of hot beverage, it's a safe bet they are American. I heard some American friend that it's part of American culture to control climate: drinks must…

> either you have the 3 minutes it takes to sip on a cappuccino or hot tea, or you drink an espresso standing It's more about having a drink to sip on, when you're driving in your car to work, than about having or not having 3 minutes to sit in a cafe.

If you wanna be a hippie like me, get one of those coffee thermos. Most cafés will fill those up in place of their cups if you ask them. Some even give a discount.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#329

Post by jnty »

hyperbovine wrote: post #280
rjf72 wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To take things from a different perspective, I find people judging what others ought consider acceptable to be inexplicable. I find people buying $200 sneakers that offer no significant performance improvement over much cheaper alternatives to be 'inexplicable.' I find people buying $1000 phones when a $200 phone would perform literally 100% of a purchaser's tasks to 100% acceptability, to be 'inexplicable'. I even f…

I’m with you all the way, so long as externalities are priced in.

This is getting closer to a solution but it assumes that damage is totally reversible given money. If you punch me and break my nose, I can sue you for 'damages' (loss of earnings, medical expenses etc) and in the eyes of civil law everything is OK - but really it would be much better if it hadn't happened in the first place! We recognise that by placing a blanket criminal ban on assault, and in the future I think we're going to have to accept that a lot more for negative-externality actions.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#330

Post by jnty »

peterbraden wrote: post #264
gambiting wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

This is nonsense, I grew up in Scotland and travelled widely and I’ve never seen such a notice.

I've seen the 'private supply' notices but I've never seen them say that water should be treated first (nor have I ever had problems with not.) It's disappointing if they're starting to do this in a blanket fashion.
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