Not sanitary at all.
Posted on 10/29/2018 7:47:34 AM PDT by reaganaut1
The growing backlash against plastic waste has a new target: paper coffee cups.
Paper cups sourced from sustainable forests have for years been hailed as a more environmentally friendly option than plastic foam, with Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. and McDonald’s Corp. recently pledging to switch to paper.
But paper cups are attracting new scrutiny, because they contain a tightly bonded plastic lining that needs to be separated before the paper can be recycled. The process requires specialist facilities, meaning most cups, even if put in the recycling bin, end up as trash. The issue is gaining attention as consumer awareness rises about how plastic water bottles, bags, straws and other products used just once before being thrown away are ending up in oceans and hurting the environment.
The makers of paper cups defend their products, saying the focus should be on ensuring they are properly recycled. The cups must be collected separately so they can be trucked to facilities that have the ability to separate the lining from the paper.
“There is the capability to recycle a paper cup in its current form; it’s just getting the product to our paper mills that’s the challenge,” said Stefan Pryor, market sector manager for U.K. paper mill James Cropper PLC.
Still, the pushback against paper cups has grown, especially in Europe. Starbucks this summer started charging a five pence (7 cent) levy for paper cups in the U.K., a world first for the chain. British lawmakers this year suggested a levy on disposable coffee cups or even an outright ban in the next five years if recycling targets can’t be met. A new report published Monday is by European trade body, the Paper Cup Recovery & Recycling Group, says just one in 25 paper cups is recycled in the U.K.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
BYOC! Bring your own cup!
If you have to bring your own shopping bags and grocery bags, you should have to bring your own cup to Starbucks.
Oh, wait, they don’t want all those germs crawling off personal cups? Those same germs and more crawl out of nasty grocery bags.
Goodbye Little Red Solo Cup!.........................
Plastics in the food chain are a HUGE problem, and like Cigarettes it will probably be another few decades before the powers that be begin to admit the reality of the problem.
I have no doubt in my mind that the majority of endocrine disorders we are dealing with today are a direct result of plastics in the food chain.
Burn them, problem solved. You’re welcome!
There was a story a few years back that some family got botulism poisoning from using their own reusable grocery bags over and over and not washing them. ..........................
Guess we’ll all have to drink out of tin cups as in olden times. Environmentalists are not suited for modern day living.
I’m sure the global elites pushing this are going to abide by these decrees too, right?
Not sanitary at all.
Love your mug!
Bags, straws and cups. Think they will stop at that? I know that the presence of large masses of plastic waste in the oceans is an environmental disaster, but this won’t solve it. The problem is irresponsible idiots who throw the plastic into the environment, where it goes in the storm drains, into rivers, and into the ocean.
Pick up the damn things!
They’re dumping ‘recycled’ plastics into the ocean in China since there is no money in that market. WE have to not use plastic straws to control that. Don’t you know???
Or, for in shop service, Starbucks can convert to sturdy ceramic cups that they wash and reuse.
BYOC! Bring your own cup!
We always did, the breakrooms had a small kitchen.
Use your cup, clean it and hang it. Worked well.
One minor issue in many years, someone traded cups with me!
In the early 90’s when the Bulls were HOT, I had an MJ cup from Dunkin Donuts, nothing special, the photo wears off in a few weeks but it was free.
Getting coffee for the ride home one evening and my cup is gone??? A different but similar cup is in its place?
The replacement is of far superior build quality.
In fact, the same cup is in my hand right now, after all the many years! Still works well.
How about if nobody goes to restaurants & we all drink coffee at home.
“Bags, straws and cups. Think they will stop at that? I know that the presence of large masses of plastic waste in the oceans is an environmental disaster, but this won’t solve it.”
It’s been established that those items come from a few sources, all in the third world. Banning straws/cups in the US won’t solve a problem.
BTW, isn’t if funny that it’s illegal in California to give a person a plastic straw but’s it’s legal to take a crap in a public street?
Since when do paper cups have to have plastic linings?
I think wax (as in waxed paper) which is biodegradable works. How did the “old” paper cups keep the liquids in? Actually, they would eventually become soggy but long after you finished the drink.
When will they ban disposable diapers?
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