Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? Most likely, you rely on at least one of these beverages to give you a boost during the wee morning hours. In fact, over half of all adults in the United States drink coffee daily. Unfortunately, this widespread habit is quickly taking a toll on the environment.
Paper Cups and the Planet
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 1.3 million tons of waste from paper plates and cups are generated annually – and about half of this amount comes from paper cups. 58 billion paper cups are thrown away each year in the United States, with about 400 million cups being thrown away every day. In New York City alone, seven million cups are tossed into trash bins on a daily basis
58 billion is a staggering number, but what does that really mean? Well, in every cup of coffee you see on a daily basis, there is an enormous amount of intrinsic resources and energy that went into the production of that cup. In fact, those 58 billion cups roughly translate into 20 million trees, 12 billion gallons of water, and enough energy to power 54,000 homes for a year!
In fact, the annual consumption of coffee in the United States produces the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as 4 four million cars. A person using just one cup per day generates almost 23 pounds of waste by the end of the year. And for what? The average cup is used only 10-15 minutes before being thrown out.
What’s worse, due to the inner polyethylene coating (used to prevent leakage), cups are expensive to recycle and will stay in landfills for over 500 years. So is that 15-minute experience really worth 500 years of waste?
Action now!
As Brands, Corporates, Event Organizers, what can we do to help reduce the impacts of paper cups on the environment?
- Develope Green Corporate Campaign Marketing
- Inspire your staffs through Sustainable Office Stationeries
- Spread the Green message to your customers throught Promotion Products or Giftings
(Source: https://www.onegreenplanet.org)
