Here at the igloo there’s been much debate over paper coffee cups. Some of the ‘mos (myself included) sometimes succumb and grab a takeaway coffee in a paper cup from time to time. Last week, Fieke picked up some insulated Thermos cups and we now have a ‘no paper cup’ policy in the studio.
When we were deciding what to do I mentioned that I’d read that the energy use of a ceramic or manufactured cup (like an insulated cup) was higher than a paper cup.
Today Dave found the original article I read on Treehugger: EcoTip: Coffee cups – spilling the beans.
In the meantime keep on using your ceramic cup, safe in the knowledge that over the long term, it is the [TreeHugger] choice.
While the post/research doesn’t address plastic and non-ceramic cups, it’s worth mentioning. So far my trusty Thermos mug has handled hundreds of cups of coffee – so it’s on the way to producing a net environmental benefit. Hopefully there’s a few more years left in it yet…
4 Comments...
Although not ceramic, I use a little
thermos cup I bought from Katmandu for my take away coffees.
I remember having this discussion with Oanh sitting in a Gloria Jeans in Parramatta some time ago.
We were so surprised that they didn’t offer mugs, it spurred a tick list creation session of pros and cons and we soon realised the issue wasn’t as straightforward as we first thought. There’s the energy input into the cups as you mention, there’s the waste factor (but paper’s biodegradable) then there’s the fact that there’s no need for a dishwasher with paper cups… the list goes (went) on.
For me I prefer mugs, the coffee tastes better.
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