Sorry, Your Paper Coffee Cup Is a Toxic Nightmare
wired.com
wired.com
Paper cups are just as toxic as plastic cups - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37259619 - Aug 2023 (87 comments)
But it is all has to be considered relative to the other options. I generally think paper is better the other disposable options. But I will certainly review any new research
Of course, the best for the environment and quality of the beverage is reusable ceramic cups.
Not true everywhere. Where I live now in EU, at my fav hipster coffeeshop they definitely let you bring your own to-go reusable glassware (basically jars with screw-on caps) where they pour your finished coffee drink, and I think in some hipster Berlin coffee shops as well where they push for the environmentalist friendly mentality.
I've noticed in some cases America(the US) tends to be way more hypochondriac than necessary, for some reason. Probably because how easy you can get sued.
That’s funny, I had the opposite impression after my various EU business trips over the years. Our colleagues were shocked that we could just touch the fruit and vegetables at a store without gloves. We were surprised to go to stores there and see fruits individually wrapped in unnecessary packaging.
Certain things are wrapped (primarily cucumbers and similar), but that is just for more perishable things shipped in from the other side of the world and is for shelf life, not hygenics.
Depends where. I've noticed certain Scandinavian countries like Finland take public hygiene to the next level, but in central Europe like France, Germany, Austria, Czechia, etc. it's more socially accepted to casually share germs and not shower too often.
It’s not just a United States problem. I’ve worked with several startups in the EU and other countries where founders were jealous of our business freedoms in the United States. The very idea that you can start a business, have it fail, and not be financially ruined for decades or the rest of your life in the United States is a foreign concept to many.
We have it good in the US.
I'm not exactly complaining. I'm still trying to start a business :P. It's just the purity of "making a better product" is gone. You have to do it within the law and compete with incumbent that have influenced that law in their favor after having maybe broken it at first.
I'n not completely cynical. Just disenchanted!
Pedantic edit: "we have it better in the U.S" means it's worse elsewhere, not that the U.S. is "good". Just saying. I do agree that the possibility of even starting business is very good in the U.S.
aside: I hang out at local spots a lot. On a regular cadence the owners mention they're being sued for ADA (Am. disabilities Act) violations. The law is good. But the thing is the law firms spray the notices to spook people into settling. It's just the cost of doing business. Even and especially the cognitive-drain cost.
Also not to get too deep into the weeds on environmentalism but you all know the line reduce/reuse/recycle? the two first Rs it seems like we as a society have decided to just overlook. I've been using the same thermos for 10 years and I guarantee that in terms of footprint my thermos is doing better than literally any disposable solution you can come up with. People are wasting SO MUCH material, time, and money trying to sustain disposability when a real solution is on the shelf at every retailer right now ready to go.
People like to point at 'emissions' because they look sexy on a spreadsheet, but there is more to the world than just that.
Now same questions for a 'single' use plastic bag.
There is this scene in countless movies, where a waitress comes up to a customer, and refills their cup from a coffee pot. No germs transferred from customers' cup to coffee pot.
How would modern take be any different? Because waitress has to pick up customers' cup? Then let customer place it under whatever machine it needs placing. And pick up when done.
This just businesses being lazy, regulatory red tape, or fear of litigation. NOT a real-world problem.
Yes there's situations where "bring your own cup" simply isn't practical. But where it is, businesses (and government!) should embrace that.
And as for the increased energy required to create and clean these stainless steel and glass containers, the goal should be that this soon becomes a "who cares" problem as we fully transition to renewable energy and storage. Admittedly, "soon" very much seems to be a material possibility, but a political impossibility. And of course there is always opportunity cost when deciding how to divvy out grid capacity, so I am smoothing over some of the complexities of the issue here, but I don't think unreasonably so.
(I drink black coffee so I don't know if that applies to the specialty drinks; those are made by someone else.)
Starbucks does this en masse if I recall correctly as they encourage people to bring their own cups, even offering a small discount
> drive-thru
So which one?
Hot water plus a plastic inner surface equals leeching.
Is this a relevant factor? Presumably plastic was chosen because it's resistant to acid.
And styrofoam.
> The scientists analysed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors, all healthy adults and found plastic particles in 17. Half the samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used in drinks bottles, while a third contained polystyrene, used for packaging food and other products. A quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene, from which plastic carrier bags are made.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/24/micropla...
And yeah, you are right, a very hot cup of coffee when left to sit would 'precipitate' some floating wax islands atop the surface; but I think it was just presumed that the wax source (beeswax, whatever) was safe to eat.
the worst thing was when you'd forget your hot cup of coffee until the next day somewhere, by which point the wax was off the paper and the liquid was out of the cup.
Kind of disappointing that the only “results” were that the midge larvae, in this trial setup, behaved the same as they did when exposed to just pure plastic cups leeching into their water.
I wonder how much it would cost society to build a hierarchical "ingredients database" for all products, or at least products that contact food.
Or is the little plastic ottoman they put in the center slowly killing me?
I've have never had such a thing, nor do my pizzas sag. Perhaps UK boxes are tougher?
https://x.com/doener/status/1677643692897710080?s=46
It reads:
"I am beautiful.
Because I can become a book."
Were the paper inserts used for those also impregnated with nasty junk? I'm unable to figure out the right search terms to find what these paper+plastic combos were called.
edit: apparently they were "cozy cups" made by Solo among others, and the inserts were plastic so my question is moot.
All the while large companies and a few large boats in international waters are doing the actual polluting.
I don't want to feel guilty anymore and not be able to act upon it.
At the end of the day, we're not giving up on drinks and at some point we'll need to accept one of the toxic solutions. But never stop searching!
It’s chemically inert, doesn’t corrode, etc etc.
Glass is also great imo and also extremely chemically inert (except that, of course, it can shatter if dropped, but that’s a whole other thing)
Obviously glazed cups (with not shitty glaze, but that’s a whole Other thing) are standard, and so on
We have options! Just not, uhh, single use ones
Now it’s in my coffee. Fuck this plastic planet.
edit: enamel and ceramic are safe as long as they aren't chipped. enamel is metal under the coating and ceramic is porous.
I'm sympathetic to your view, as I'd either make my own at home or use instant in cold water (like I would camping) if I ever drink coffee again (another flip response might be "just don't drink coffee"). On a road trip, though, my spouse needs her coffee, and so she brings in her insulated mug or uses whatever cup they have if we're driving through. As seldom as we road trip, the impact is small and I'd rather lobby for the big-impact stuff, like vehicle miles, heating buildings, industrial pollution and energy conversion, and how much land we've converted to grow food-animals and mono-cultured crops on. These are too big to comprehend, so we pick at each other about straws instead of engaging in politics and governance.
Buy hey, what would we do without clickbaits?