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Better disposable coffee cups can be made with waste from sugar cane

economist.com

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Re: Better disposable coffee cups can be made with waste from sugar cane

#21

Post by Kankuro »

klyrs wrote: post #12
Animats wrote: post #8

Bagasse is widely used for making paper plates, clamshell containers, and other disposables.[1] Cheap, biodegradeable, and non-toxic. What's new here? Smoother texture, perhaps? [1] https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Disposable-bagasse-bi...

Bagasse is short fibers that absorb water and oil readily. Adding longer bamboo fibers seems to increase tolerance for both. The stuff that's out there now wouldn't hold near-boiling water for a minute much less 2 hours, which is their claim.

The temperuture of the coffee will drop quickly, so I wonder if it would not resist to water consistently heaten for 2 hours or if it will fall apart after 2 hours if it contained hot water (that would be bad if you forgot your coffee on your desk).

Re: Better disposable coffee cups can be made with waste from sugar cane

#22

Post by CobrastanJorji »

djrogers wrote: post #18

> They also found that when they made a cup out of the stuff and filled it with water heated almost to boiling point, the cup remained intact for more than two hours. Though this is not as long as a plastic cup would last (it would survive indefinitely) it is long enough for all practical purposes. Err, no. A disposable cup that leaks after 2 hours is a horrible product. Disposable cups are at their most useful in th…

That's a good point, but the world goes through something like half a trillion disposable cups per year. Even if 99% of them are used exclusively to store hot liquids in cars for over two hours, that still leaves 5 billion cups per year that we could usefully replace with these.

Re: Better disposable coffee cups can be made with waste from sugar cane

#23

Post by seszett »

djrogers wrote: post #18

> They also found that when they made a cup out of the stuff and filled it with water heated almost to boiling point, the cup remained intact for more than two hours. Though this is not as long as a plastic cup would last (it would survive indefinitely) it is long enough for all practical purposes. Err, no. A disposable cup that leaks after 2 hours is a horrible product. Disposable cups are at their most useful in th…

To me, drinking in a car is a very American thing and I don't think this would be a problem here. If this product works in most of the world but not the US, it would still be better than using plastic cups everywhere.

Although paper cups are already common anyway.

Re: Better disposable coffee cups can be made with waste from sugar cane

#24

Post by Jolter »

djrogers wrote: post #18

> They also found that when they made a cup out of the stuff and filled it with water heated almost to boiling point, the cup remained intact for more than two hours. Though this is not as long as a plastic cup would last (it would survive indefinitely) it is long enough for all practical purposes. Err, no. A disposable cup that leaks after 2 hours is a horrible product. Disposable cups are at their most useful in th…

Sounds like these new cups would be perfectly useful in cafes in non-car-centric communities.

Of course a drive-through would not be selling them.

Re: Better disposable coffee cups can be made with waste from sugar cane

#25

Post by repiret »

viraptor wrote: post #19
esturk wrote: post #6

This would be great for coffee chains. Some people think that when you bring you own cup to Starbucks, it'll save a paper cup. This is actually not true. The barista has to use pour the coffee to a new cup and then they'll pour in on yours.

Is that a Starbucks / state / US rule? In Australian cafes they make the coffee straight in your reusable cup.

It's a Starbucks rules. Most non-chain US coffee shops will happily put the drink straight into your own mug.

Re: Better disposable coffee cups can be made with waste from sugar cane

#26

Post by UweSchmidt »

djrogers wrote: post #18

> They also found that when they made a cup out of the stuff and filled it with water heated almost to boiling point, the cup remained intact for more than two hours. Though this is not as long as a plastic cup would last (it would survive indefinitely) it is long enough for all practical purposes. Err, no. A disposable cup that leaks after 2 hours is a horrible product. Disposable cups are at their most useful in th…

We need more environmental tech, but we also have to adapt our behaviour a little bit.

How can you make something that is degradable in an environmental friendly way, but also last forever? Something has to give.

Re: Better disposable coffee cups can be made with waste from sugar cane

#27

Post by disposablex »

Always love these disposable avenues of eating and drinking. Not sure if it started after seeing willy wonka eating a cup[0] he just drink out of or not.

But I always remember reading an article about Indian food-carts serving tea in the morning[1][2]. They make really thin clay cups to serve it in. When you're done you smash the cup on the road when you're done.

[0] https://twitter.com/omgfacts/status/885198079401631745?lang=... [1] https://vedicmix.com/drink-your-chai-and-break-your-cup/ [2] https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2016/10/26/kolkatas-age-ol...

Re: Better disposable coffee cups can be made with waste from sugar cane

#28

Post by dawnerd »

seszett wrote: post #23
djrogers wrote: post #18

> They also found that when they made a cup out of the stuff and filled it with water heated almost to boiling point, the cup remained intact for more than two hours. Though this is not as long as a plastic cup would last (it would survive indefinitely) it is long enough for all practical purposes. Err, no. A disposable cup that leaks after 2 hours is a horrible product. Disposable cups are at their most useful in th…

To me, drinking in a car is a very American thing and I don't think this would be a problem here. If this product works in most of the world but not the US, it would still be better than using plastic cups everywhere. Although paper cups are already common anyway.

People drink in their car all over the world, what makes it "very American"?

Re: Better disposable coffee cups can be made with waste from sugar cane

#29

Post by Steve44 »

Kankuro wrote: post #21
klyrs wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bagasse is short fibers that absorb water and oil readily. Adding longer bamboo fibers seems to increase tolerance for both. The stuff that's out there now wouldn't hold near-boiling water for a minute much less 2 hours, which is their claim.

The temperuture of the coffee will drop quickly, so I wonder if it would not resist to water consistently heaten for 2 hours or if it will fall apart after 2 hours if it contained hot water (that would be bad if you forgot your coffee on your desk).

The current PE lined cups will also leak after some time. They are designed for immediate use, not as liquid storage containers. Most of them, especially the higher quality ones, will usually last a day or two before significantly leaking but not always. Don't leave one on your desk overnight, I've seen the messy results!

Re: Better disposable coffee cups can be made with waste from sugar cane

#30

Post by Steve44 »

markvdb wrote: post #11

From the article: "Once used, these could be dumped in landfills with a clear conscience." Naturally biodegradable waste is not landfill material. A well-informed reporter not realising that shows how much work there still is to do. The EU single use plastic ban [0] is coming in July 20201. Is there any US equivalent yet? [0] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20190321IP...

The EU 1999 Landfill Directive is about the phase-out of biodegradable waste going to landfill. Nothing which composts or biodegrades should be disposed of this way.

These cups should not go in this waste stream, the only end of life is commercial composting as I don't believe they are suitable for home composting.

https://www.ciwm.co.uk/ciwm/knowledge/landfill-directive.asp...

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