Despite all efforts and technological advances, pollution still remains one of the major environmental problems. A lot of attention has been directed towards limiting emissions and greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, but solid waste on the ground is now reaching alarming amounts too. There is a solution, maybe one that will not completely eliminate waste, but it will definitely bring it down considerably, and that is recycling.
There are notable efforts that go towards this, and one is particularly exciting. If before you always felt bad for buying that morning coffee on the way to work, knowing that the disposable cup will then be send to a landfill, worry no more. The first ever fully recyclable disposable cups, the Green Your Cup, are now hitting the British market, and hopefully soon will be used by coffee chains all over the world. Imagine how cool it would be- your coffee cup today is your newspaper tomorrow.
Unless we all want to live near a mountain of trash soon, everyone should take responsibility and do their part, and here I do not mean only the common sense actions like disposing of your candy wrapper in a street bin instead of on the sidewalk. I am referring to improving the culture of recycling, making it a part of normal daily routines, rather than something that should always be reminded of. And while people are becoming more and more aware of what they do with their household waste, their busy everyday routines make them forget that garbage should be disposed of properly at any time.
Of course, product manufacturers not always make it easy for us, especially when we have a doubt of whether the thing we are holding can be recycled or not. And if you have seconds to decide between the “all waste” bin and the “paper” bin, naturally you would go for the first one. Now, here is the item that will eliminate all doubts. The first ever fully recyclable cup, Green Your Cup, which will be containing your morning coffee, given you live in the UK, that is. The difference between this cup, and the regular ones that we are used to, is that the Green Your Cup has a thin liner that is specifically designed to be easily removed during recycling.
Although it is not yet decided which particular coffee chains and supermarkets will be selling the product, the impact that it would have once introduced poses no questions. Taking out the 2.5 billion cups that are thrown away on yearly basis in the UK from the total waste will make a huge difference. Regardless of who will be selling the product, the new recyclable cups will hit the shelves by the end of 2014.
Image (c) Green Your Cup
Of course, the green solution is to adopt a
reusable cup. My thermal travel cup was far better at keeping my coffee warm
and my hands cool, as well as saving a couple of dimes on refills at my daily
coffee shop. While many people have done the same, the reusable cup does
require forethought and maintenance which, let’s face it, isn’t common just
before leaving on your daily commute.