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Coffee Cups Are Next

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Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#431

Post by mft_ »

brador wrote: post #392
mft_ wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> train people how to use the dishwashers If any workplace ever implements this - leave. I'm not paying my engineers $200k a year to load a dishwasher for even a minute. We have cleaners who do it as part of their rotation, anything else and you're running a clown show.

> If any workplace ever implements this - leave.

> I'm not paying my engineers $200k a year to load a dishwasher for even a minute. We have cleaners who do it as part of their rotation, anything else and you're running a clown show.

I see your point, but it's means to an end. Our immediate goal, as a group of motivated employees, is to remove the paper cups. This is being done with the grudging acceptance of the team who actually run the building, who would probably be much happier if we stopped trying to change things, making their lives more complicated. Thus, while we can make the change we desire quickly and relatively easily, we must also handle the downsides of the change, to be successful - otherwise, it would be reversed. Long-term, having a dedicated cleaner do this would be optimal... but that's a change that would take far longer to enact.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#432

Post by manicdee »

CannisterFlux wrote: post #245
manicdee wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plot twist: the glass is just crushed and dumped, very little actually gets recycled. Everyone uses different glass for their bottles and you can’t easily separate it once it’s mixed (either as whole bottles, shards of broken bottles, or molten glass).

Unlike plastics, recycling glass does seem to be viable. Even mixed glass can be recycled into other products if it isn't good enough for new bottles. This industry site says that glass recycling in Europe is at 74% https://feve.org/recyclingstats2018/

Yes it can be done, that doesn’t mean it actually is done.

Even in Europe where they are actually trying, 26% of the glass is not recycled.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#433

Post by marcus_holmes »

chopin wrote: post #248
cf498 wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They most of the time dont actually sell those mugs, the 6€ are a deposit.

Yeah, but the deposit is higher than the retail price.

that's the right price to set it at... just more expensive that it would cost to buy the mug from a mug store rather than a coffee store.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#434

Post by marcus_holmes »

Freak_NL wrote: post #293
marcus_holmes wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Spelling: Glühwein. There is a catch though. Those mugs either stay near the stand they were sold from, or are taken as souvenirs. This works just fine. With buying coffee on the go, people would take their mug along with them to wherever they are going, and you would have to hand it back the next time you visited that particular coffee shop or one of the same franchise. The risk of the mug getting damaged is much hi…

I have zero data on this, but I'll lay decent money that 90% of take-out coffee customers go to the same shop regularly.

After all, they're going somewhere, probably somewhere local, with their coffee. If they weren't, they'd stay at the coffee shop to drink their coffee. Or if they're not going somewhere local, then they're on a long journey (not that common).

I used to drink most take-out coffee when I worked just around the corner from the coffee stand, and went there every day, twice a day, for decent coffee.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#436

Post by TheTrotters »

ClassyJacket wrote: post #173
pg_bot wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I've read the reusables have to be used ~70 times to be more environmentally friendly than the current disposables. I think the easiest win would be designating between sit down and take out customers. Sit down customers could be given porcelain or some other washable container. However this would increase labor costs for businesses so you don't automatically get a free win.

"I think the easiest win would be designating between sit down and take out customers. Sit down customers could be given porcelain or some other washable container." Interesting, what country are you from that doesn't do this? I can't think of a coffee place I've been to that doesn't, in Australia and Europe. Even McDonald's has porcelain cups for sit down customers.

Yes, that’s very often the case in Europe (sometimes there’s no choice at train stations and airports) but I haven’t seen that in US.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#437

Post by TheTrotters »

CoolGuySteve wrote: post #111
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…

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

Yeah, but you don’t drink a beer on a train in the morning or during a lunchtime walk.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#438

Post by TheTrotters »

lsc wrote: post #287
pg_bot wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I've read the reusables have to be used ~70 times to be more environmentally friendly than the current disposables. I think the easiest win would be designating between sit down and take out customers. Sit down customers could be given porcelain or some other washable container. However this would increase labor costs for businesses so you don't automatically get a free win.

most places seem to offer ceramic for sit-down customers? I mean, maybe not starbucks; most Starbucks I've been in don't really seem to have much of a sit-down area, so "for here or to go" isn't really a question. But most nicer places have them; it seems to go with having seating. I personally have a strong preference for ceramic (not enough to carry my own, but when I'm going to be in a place, I ask for a ceramic c…

In Europe almost all Starbucks locations have ceramic mugs. The only exceptions I’ve come across are at train stations and airports.

Re: Coffee Cups Are Next

#439

Post by partiallypro »

woodpanel wrote: post #235
partiallypro wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also undoubtedly alters the taste

Now that you're saying it: 20 yrs from now, I can see an greenwashing-ad of artisan/craft macaroni where ecological considerates up-cycle used macaroni-straws exactly this way. They will have counter-cultural names (unless labeling upcycled garbage for what it is becomes counter cultural). There will be media enchantment all the way (until bankruptcy), everybody yearns for a solution to the threat that too much noodl…

I'm sure there will be a government grant for it that fleeces tax payers to fund the research. Then they'll realize that pasta is so fragile when uncooked that everyone's straws are breaking and it's a useless product...but someone will make millions from it.
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