So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Cor 10:31
500 billion plastic cups are used every year. Most of them have lids which end up in landfill or the oceans and are one of the most commonly found plastics on the beach
Most of them are from cooldrinks, sometimes the cup is paper and will break down – but often it contains plastic to stop leakages. . Coffee cups are the worst. 16 billion coffee cups are used each year. it’s not as easy to recycle your takeaway coffee cup as people may have thought. Here’s a depressing statistic – 99.75% of coffee cups are not recycled.
It’s the mixture of paper and plastic in their inner lining – designed to make them both heat and leakproof – that causes difficulties.
A growing number of retailers and offices are buying compostable cups
However, compostable cups have to be disposed of in food waste bins rather than in a normal recycling bin and this is an issue for both homeowners and managers of cafes or workplace canteens.
“Compostable sounds better, but it can actually make things worse if they are put in the wrong bin.”
Because they are designed to break down, if they end up in with the plastic recycling they can contaminate it. The same is true if you put an ordinary takeaway coffee cup in the recycling.
This costs councils money in sorting it and can even lead to the whole batch of recycled items being rejected.
The other problem with compostables is that they are often made from maize or corn. This means that fertile agricultural land is being used to produce throw away cups rather than food. This leads to rising food prices.
Some coffee shops are now offering a reduction in price if you use your own re-usable mug.
Plastic lids are a symptom of our rushed life-style- you can do without them! – sit down, spend some time with other people, enjoy a couple of minutes of peace and enjoy that coffee or cool drink.
So what can we do?
- At Church – let’s go back to using cups and saucers and washing them up!
- If you are on the road – bring your own re-usable mug.
- For large events such as conferences – if the signage is clear – use compostables and make sure they go onto the food waste.
- Refuse the plastic lid.
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