Should We Ban Paper Coffee Cups From The Face Of The Earth?
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Ban Paper Coffee Cups...Here's What I'm Thinking
That is my way of choosing the middle ground about banning paper coffee cups and I choose the middle ground not because I like paper cups (that picture shown below this text is pretty ugly) but because I am willing to conceed that there are just going to be times when you cannot carry a mug. I simply do not think it is reasonable to TOTALLY BAN coffee cups made of paper or any other disposable material. However, I definitely think that if you are drinking your coffee in a retail establishment, then your coffee should be served in a mug and that the restaurant industry should do WHATEVER IT TAKES to make that happen!
Restaurants can support this initiative in two ways. Firstly, of course, by offering reusable ceramic cups for patrons who are staying in their establishments with their beverages as a matter of NORMAL PROCEDURE and not just upon request. A ceramic mug should be the default serving vessel. Secondly, they should do everything possible to entice people to carry and use a reusable mug if they are leaving the premises with their beverage. If that means you get .20 cents off your cup of coffee when you have it in your own travelling mug, I believe that that would be a very good incentive. The same principle works when the grocery stores charge for plastic bags...doing so was enough to make customers bring their own bags from home and reuse them. Charging for a disposable cup would be an wonderful incentive to opt out.
What do you think about paper coffee cups?
Should they be banned or not?
In 2004, it was estimated that
Starbucks used 1.5 billion disposable cups.
~~ The New York Times
Do you drink coffee from a paper cup?
Pros Of Banning Paper Cups
Take a moment to ponder how exterminating paper cups will be of benefit to mankind.
- Totally eliminating disposable cups would reduce waste and the huge impact of coffee cups on the garbage system and the earth.
- Reduce litter that is found everywhere.
- Beverages taste better in 'real' mugs.
Cons Of Banning Paper Cups
Now think about the negative issues or problems involved in banning paper cups.
- Difficulty for fast food restaurants in serving their customers beverages.
- The necessity of carrying around your favorite mug.
- Health implications if you reuse a cup without properly washing it.
- Staff handling mugs that have been improperly cleaned.
- Inconvenience of wanting a drink but being without a mug.
Toronto uses some 350,000,000
(yes, that's 350 million)
takeout cups per year.
~~ The Toronto Star
Three Options To Consider In A Campaign To Ban Paper Coffee Cups
- An outright ban. This would definitely meet the goal of eliminating disposable cups. This idea would be easy to enforce as it simply eliminates the existence of the item but it is an extreme choice and does not give consumers a chance to change their habits.
- A levy or tax. This would presumably reduce the use of disposable cups. Nobody likes taxes and some would bring a mug. The proceeds of the tax could help pay for recycling the cups that are used.
- A deposit or return system. This is a nice idea but many people do not participate in the voluntary return system now. Plus a return system requires an organized handling and storage of more garbage.
Green Alternatives to Paper Cups YouTube Video by Eric Rochow of realworldgreen.com
Paper cups are everywhere this video offers ways to lower your carbon footprint.
We Are Happy To Serve You...In A Ceramic Cup!
Exceptionlab Inc. 10-Ounce Ceramic Cup "We are happy to serve you"
Amazon Price: $10.95 (as of 02/16/2012)
Here is a great choice if you are trying to reduce your consumption of paper coffee cups. Like the famous New York City Greek paper cup that has existed since 1963 except that this one is ceramic and perfect for use over and over again at home, work or even in your restaurant. The paper one is used to serve 180,000,000 hot coffees per year in New York delis and the cup has become a New York icon, some might call it the world's most famous coffee cup. This ceramic version makes a great alternative to the paper one.
Should Paper Cups and Plastic Lids Be Banned?
Definitely a tempest in a coffee cup!
This is a Monkeybrains lens designed to host a debate, not pick a fight. It is a chance for everyone to share their opinion and a place for communicating ideas and discussing them. In other words, a friendly discussion...now what do you think about banning paper coffee cups?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byYes, absolutely, ban them! It is about time!
moi says:
What drives me the *most* bonkers is when I *do* show up with my reuseable mug and they use a *paper* cup to *measure my large coffee* before dumping it into my mug. Serious case of stupidity!
Posted January 18, 2012
MTF-briguy says:
Well..there is gonna be a "green tax" on the ones in Canada and I hate taxes cause of previous generations..so my bottomline, they should have been banned a long time ago!
Posted October 06, 2010
TopStyleTravel says:
Disposable cups that cannot be recycled or are not biodegradable should be banned. Disposables should be used only when there is no other choice. Also people should stop littering and be responsible. We all have to live on this planet.
Posted March 30, 2009
TheGreenerMe says:
I belive it's time to make the switch, like Mortira said, to corn plastic cups that can biodegrade. It only makes sense, the technology exists. Starbucks also recently switched their plastics to #5 plastics, making it harder to recycle them (many places do not accept #5's!). There's never been a better time to change these type of things.
Posted March 29, 2009
mulberry says:
Maybe, possibly, but I don't know. Heck how much water is used to wash mugs? How much electricity to heat it to the temperature required by state regulations. This gets complicated! I guess I'll vote for the ban, and say we need to be open to further information if it's found that too much energy is wasted by washing etc.
Posted March 20, 2009
aj2008 says:
Yes ban them! If anyone has been to a landfill site (yep, my Hubby takes me to the most romantic of locations) and seen and smelt the muck that is produced after it has been capped over and everything left to rot in the ground, then I think you would definitely put the "green" option before the "convenient" option as much as you possibly can.
Posted March 20, 2009
Mortira says:
When Guelph banned styrofoam, every McDonalds in North America switched to cardboard for Big Macs. If we ban paper cups, Tim Horton's and Star Bucks will just have to switch to onion or corn cups. Sounds like a great idea to me!
Posted March 19, 2009
JaguarJulie says:
Well, I'd like to have a special refillable, collectible mug -- like a Starbucks that I can bring back to get a better price on my daily Starbucks coffee. Like a reward program.
Posted March 13, 2009
No way, Monkeybrain! It simply won't work!
Susan52 says:
Paper cup litter is definitely ugly and horrid, but at least paper cups are biodegradable. And unbreakable. And oftentimes convenient. I'd rather ban litterbugs!
Posted August 25, 2011
DesignedbyLisa says:
A ban would be a problem. It isn't like I carry a mug with me at all times. But, a good solution is to do what lots of coffee places near me do -- it is cheaper to buy coffee with a mug. A coffee with a paper cup costs 15-25 cents more.
Posted June 02, 2011
John Gault Supporter says:
America was created to protect the individual freedom of it's citizens. When anything is banned, then choice is forcibly removed. Who gave "Greens", or any group, the right to decide what is right for another, let alone EVERYONE?
If you want my support for any "moral" goal, then you will have to earn it through sound and logical reasoning. If you try to oppress me through bans and restrictions, then you will have not only failed to attain peaceful acquiescence to your desires, but created a stalwart enemy.
Posted July 25, 2010
Joan4 says:
I hate to see any more rules about anything, but I think the public can be educated and demand ceramic cups when it is possible.
Posted September 30, 2009
KimGiancaterino says:
I think it's better to provide a financial incentive, like a discount when you provide your own beverage container.
Posted May 05, 2009
naturegirl7 says:
Do a partial ban, in offices, factories, etc. Make fast food restaurants use recycled materials for to go cups.
Posted April 11, 2009
lakeerieartists says:
This is a great argument, but I think that it is not practical to completely eliminate them. However, it would be great to start a campaign on moving people to owning their own travel cups.
Posted March 23, 2009
Jimmie says:
No, although I prefer a ceramic mug just because of the way it feels, papercups do serve a purpose at times. Our "on the go" lifestyles necessitate them at least sometimes.
Posted March 13, 2009
Superwife says:
well you can't ban them, but we can all carry that ultra cute ceramic one! I say carry your own and have it filled up.
Posted March 13, 2009
rockycha says:
I'm much more oriented toward a green way of encouraging recycling - why not make paper cups exclusively in recycled papers, and why not have paper recycling stations at every public trash recepticle too?
Posted March 12, 2009
Treasures-By-Brenda says:
I would love to see them banned but I believe a total ban to be impractical. I would, however, fully support a levy or a tax on disposable cups and mandatory use of ceramic mugs in place like fast food restaurants.
Posted March 11, 2009
Help Prove That Coffee Cups Should Be Banned
Add links to proof that will help make this case.
Add a link that makes my case.
Tim Hortons launches anti-litter campaign
Tim Horton's litter is EVERYWHERE. They're like a more...1 point
Coating on Coffee Cups Puts Lid On Recycling
The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio's daily newspaper reve more...0 points
Starting In 2004, Starbucks Planned to Use Cups With 10% Recycled Paper
(Just 10 percent!) Hoping to win over customers wh more...0 points
Prove That Paper Coffee Cups Should NOT Be Banned
Add links that prove why banning paper coffee cups will not work.
How To Be Green: Plan a Zero-Waste Event
How can I host a more environment-friendly event? more...0 points
Picture by Pleuntje.
Twenty-two percent of litter in Nova Scotia is Tim Horton's cups.
~~ CBC, 2005
What does your coffee taste best in?
I'm willing to be that we already know the answer to this question!
Use A Paper Coffee Cup
Like whatever they happen to give you at the coffee shop...
Or A Ceramic Mug That You Love
Like these Starbucks collector's mugs...
Or You Can Use A Travel Mug
Like these ones on eBay...
Blogs Dedicated To The Paper Coffee Cup Issue
More reading to help you understand.
- An Art Exhibit That's Good to the Last Drop
- By DAVID W. DUNLAP For almost five months, one of the busiest intersections in New York City has been transformed ? by the unlikely medium of 800 used paper coffee cups hung from fishing line ? into an enchanted cleft in the canyons, a place of ...
- Eco-friendly lid 'Cuppow's' the alternative
- Cuppow, a new product created by Joshua Resnikoff and Aaron Panone, offers an alternative option to single-use paper coffee cups by repurposing canning jars as portable coffee cups. Started within the walls of the multi-disciplinary workspace/studio ...
- Go green this week
- Paper coffee cups litter our streets and fill the city's trash cans every day, so please make a small change in your daily habits and do your part to protect Aspen's environment. Participating shops include: The Aspen Store, Boden's Butter, Starbucks, ...
I am Not a Paper Cup Reusable Mug
Pretty cool! Here is a thermal porcelain cup that is environment and dishwasher friendly!
DCI I Am Not a Paper Cup 12-Ounce Porcelain Travel Cup with Lid
Amazon Price: $11.05 (as of 02/16/2012)
Accumulating styrofoam or paper coffee cups on your desk? Is your garbage bin overflowing with take-out containers? Consider a practical piece of artwork and fun and quirky alternative, the I am Not a Paper Cup reusable mug. This mug is definitally environmentally responsible and can be used both as a regular or as a travel mug. Your coffee will actually taste better than when you drink it out this mug instead of out of a plastic, rubber, or stainless steel travel mug. In a porcelain cup, you taste the COFFEE. A practical way to reduce YOUR disposable cup use.
If you drink one cup of coffee per day per year you are generating 22 pounds of garbage.
What'll It Be? Will You Have Your Coffee In A Paper or Ceramic Mug?
Banning Paper Coffee Cups Allows You To Choose A Beautiful Mug That Suits Your Personality
Paper cups are not recyclable because of the plastic coating that makes them waterproof.
Beyond Coffee-to-Go: 101 Things to Do with a Paper Cup
Beyond Coffee-To-Go: 101 Things To Do With A Paper Cup
Amazon Price: $8.69 (as of 02/16/2012)
Disposable paper cups allow coffee to go more places, at more times of the day, but most often they are used and tossed away without so much as a thought to extending its life. BEYOND COFFEE-TO-GO offers 101 alternatives to a cup's single use. Some are silly, many serious, and more than a few are environmentally friendly and fundamentally practical ways to prolong the usefulness of your paper coffee cup.
How many paper coffee cups do you use in a day?
This Page Was Honoured To Be Chosen Green Lens of the Week March 30, 2009 In the A Million Ways To Go Green Group
As An eBay Power Seller, I Am Thrilled To Help People Find A Mug That They Are Searching For
Designed to generate conversation, this Monkeybrain lens was meant to get you thinking. Your turn to comment here.
Please add your comments about this page here but your 'vote' about the debate at the top in 'Here's your turn to spout off.'
How would you respond to a levy on disposable coffee cups? (That is my favorite option.) Would it make you bring your own mug? What do you think are the pros and cons of banning coffee mugs?
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Susan52
Aug 25, 2011 @ 3:58 pm | delete
- To ban or not to ban. I'm still all for banning litterbugs!
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lisadh
Jul 17, 2011 @ 9:49 pm | delete
- If every company that provides paper cups in the lunch room were to buy one cup for every employee, they would save money in the long run, and we'd all save a lot of trees.
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WriterBuzz
Sep 30, 2010 @ 3:46 am | delete
- Very nice lens. Thanks. I gave you a thumbs up, because it's a nice lens.
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Joan4
Sep 30, 2009 @ 10:30 am | delete
- This is a good debate! I always pack my mug in my suitcase. I just don't like coffee in a paper cup. One of our local restaurants allows customers to bring their own mug, and that seems to work out well for them.
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tandemonimom
Aug 22, 2009 @ 10:36 am | delete
- Great lens, congrats on Green Lens of the Week! Lensroll returned to Reduce, Reuse, Rebag (and thanks for the blessings!).
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A Final Thought...
Photo by laur5785.
by Treasures-By-Brenda
Because I work at home, I do not find myself purchasing tea very often. When I am out, however, I try to remember my travel mug. I'm the first to admit... more »
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