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Coffee Cups Are Next

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Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#351

Post by sschueller »

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…

Here is Switzerland you have both.

However, a lot of places will give you a discount if you bring your own cup.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#352

Post by usermac »

sschueller wrote: post #351
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…

Here is Switzerland you have both. However, a lot of places will give you a discount if you bring your own cup.

They do here in the US too. If I forget, I just ask them for a "here" cup/mug and it seems to make it taste better too.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#353

Post by C1sc0cat »

Brotkrumen wrote: post #328
sampo wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Or as I did when I commuted to London - make your own in the morning and use a £5 thermos to take it with you on the train.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#354

Post by C1sc0cat »

mft_ wrote: post #295
scotty79 wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My office had a lot of ceramic cups that were taken by employees from the cabinet, used and left wherever in the kitchenette. There was one dedicated employee whose main job was to gather the cups and put them in the dishwasher and after they are cleaned, put them back in the cabinet. Dishwasher ran constantly and that employee kept kitchenette neat in between of cup handling. I think there were even two dishwashers…

Funnily enough, we just hit a similar issue. I'm part of an environmental group at my workplace, and one of our recent pilots was to get rid of single-use paper cups. It was crazy: despite ample clean ceramic cups being available --and indeed stacked on top of the coffee machine!-- many people defaulted to paper cups, sometimes to the tune of having 5-10 used paper cups on their desk at the end of a day. Anyway, one…

Why not have everyone put their mugs/cups in the dishwasher last thing at night and have the cleaner run the machine as part of their tasks.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#355

Post by egeozcan »

exodus_de wrote: post #298
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…

Where the hell are you from "as a European"? In Germany you can get a take-out almost anywhere they sell coffee. Vending machines are ubiquitous. It's not just for "Americans". Having a coffee takes more than three minutes, especially if it's still hot. People don't necessarily have that kind of time in the morning. Or maybe they prefer to drink their coffee at a different place than where they purchased it.

It's usually that people want to drink during their commute.

I'm also living in Germany and I don't remember being given a plastic cup - they are always made out of paper, except their lids. I think they should just ban the lids. I also saw a lot of discounted price offers for people bringing their own containers in take-away coffee shops

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#356

Post by Steve44 »

mft_ wrote: post #295
scotty79 wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My office had a lot of ceramic cups that were taken by employees from the cabinet, used and left wherever in the kitchenette. There was one dedicated employee whose main job was to gather the cups and put them in the dishwasher and after they are cleaned, put them back in the cabinet. Dishwasher ran constantly and that employee kept kitchenette neat in between of cup handling. I think there were even two dishwashers…

Funnily enough, we just hit a similar issue. I'm part of an environmental group at my workplace, and one of our recent pilots was to get rid of single-use paper cups. It was crazy: despite ample clean ceramic cups being available --and indeed stacked on top of the coffee machine!-- many people defaulted to paper cups, sometimes to the tune of having 5-10 used paper cups on their desk at the end of a day. Anyway, one…

I'm not sure where you are but there are a number of schemes in the UK now for recycling these cups. The main one is, I think, Simply Cups so possibly worth contacting them.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#357

Post by DanBC »

egeozcan wrote: post #355
exodus_de wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where the hell are you from "as a European"? In Germany you can get a take-out almost anywhere they sell coffee. Vending machines are ubiquitous. It's not just for "Americans". Having a coffee takes more than three minutes, especially if it's still hot. People don't necessarily have that kind of time in the morning. Or maybe they prefer to drink their coffee at a different place than where they purchased it.

It's usually that people want to drink during their commute. I'm also living in Germany and I don't remember being given a plastic cup - they are always made out of paper, except their lids. I think they should just ban the lids. I also saw a lot of discounted price offers for people bringing their own containers in take-away coffee shops

The lids are easily recyclable. The paper cups have a plastic lining. They can be recycled, but not easily. Most recycling centres can't take them.

As an end user it's really hard for me to know what to do: is this single use hard to recycle plastic environmentally worse than ceramic mugs being washed or plastic reusable cups being reused maybe dozens of times if we're lucky.

Personally, I'd go for single use plastic / paper cups and high temperature incineration, but I have no idea if that's the right thing to do.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#358

Post by Steve44 »

ihuman wrote: post #164
bobbylarrybobby wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they have a plastic lining on the inside (for waterproofing) then they’re not

According to the article they are, but only if you have a machine to separate the wax lining.

The standard paper coffee cups are about 92% paper and 8% PE for the waterproof lining. Come compostable cups have a lining made from a form of PLA and are, in theory, compostable under the right commercial conditions.

The PE lined cups can be recycled, the UK currently has capacity to recycle all the 2.5 billion cups we use annually.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#359

Post by Raidion »

bubblewrap wrote: post #347
kristopolous wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many under-sink filtration systems last at least 10,000 gallons. They take 5 minutes max to replace. Are you saying that 5 minute task every few years is more work then manually lugging 10,000 gallons of water through say, 10,000 separate containers, carrying each one, opening them manually each time, tipping and pouring them, then discarding them? (that's the weight of about 25 cars) Not to be rude but I don't belie…

The problem is not the 5 minutes, it is to remember doing it. Because if you don't remember it, you might get sick from bacteria growing in the filter.

Ask your favorite personal digital assistant to set a reminder and then swap it out using all the time you save not lugging bottled water home from the store.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#360

Post by dsfyu404ed »

WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #68
dsfyu404ed wrote: post #27

So why can't we spend all this money we're wasting debating what plastic stuff to ban figuring out how to recycle these things instead? (or down-cycle, plastic contaminated paper pulp from cups seems like a natural fit for filter media)

Plastic is hard to recycle since there are multiple types and there can be multiple types in one product. Also generally the recycled plastic is not as strong and usable as the original type and it's more expensive. Recycling plastic is not the answer. Most of the recycling claims by companies with the exception of aluminum is used as a way to make consumers feel better about using and trashing a product.

But we're not talking about recycling plastic. We're talking about products that can be recycled that are contaminated with plastic (e.g. plastic bags that clog up machines and plastic liners for paper products that presumably contaminate the paper pulp). It's a materials handling problem. It should be solvable.
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