Eco Tip 101: Ditch the single use 'to-go" cup

Think twice before you walk out the door to get your coffee fix…Grab your tumbler or reusable cup.

Did you know?

• Disposable “to-go” coffee cups are NOT recyclable!

• EACH disposable coffee cup is responsible for 0.24 lbs. of carbon (C02) greenhouse gas emissions

The environmental IMPACT of disposable coffee cups is enormous!

• Paper cups are not recyclable because of the plastic liner and coffee contamination. 
• Garbage haulers do not accept plastic lids in curbside recycling bins.
• Cardboard sleeves can be recycled and reused, but often are not.   
• The clear majority of disposable cups and lids sold at coffee shops eventually arrive at the landfill.  
• You can bring your own reusable coffee cup and give it to the barista to fill up your coffee (both hot and cold).
• Only 1-2% of Starbucks customers bring their own cup, even with a 10-cent discount incentive.
• Starbucks estimated the cost of disposable packaging (coffee cup, lid, and insulating sleeve) at 15 cents back in 2000.

How big is this problem?

• If an individual purchases a disposable cup every day, this creates about 23 pounds of waste per year.
• According to a study by Starbucks, each paper cup manufactured is responsible for 0.24 pounds of CO2 emissions.
• Recycling Advocates estimates that 50 MILLION disposable coffee cups are used in the Metro area per year. This equates to 3 MILLION pounds of solid waste being generated and 6,000 metric tons of CO2 being generated. This is equivalent to almost 600,000 gallons of gas consumed, or 6 million pounds of coal burned for one year.

The solution is simple and it starts with you. Remember your reusable cup or tumbler. They have some great options at Klean Kanteen or your local coffee shop.