Essay Sample on Reusable Coffee Cups: An Eco-Friendly Solution

Introduction

Environmental protection has been a priority of many organizations in the current market. Most companies, including Starbucks, have been using reusable coffee cups for the last few years due to their environmental benefits. The coffee cups have a thin plastic lining, which makes it hard to recycle the cups. However, the reusable coffee cups have their environmental effects after they have been reused for more than 100 times or when hot water is used to wash them (Ferreira, 2018). Adopting reusable cups may be useful in the short run. It reduces environmental pollution and the emission of harmful gases when transporting the coffee cups to be recycled in the industry. In the long-run, the reusable cups affect the environment negatively because of the materials used to make the cups may bring health effects to the coffee users. Although the adoption of reusable cups helps to conserve the environment and saves on customer's resources, the exercise is dangerous in the long term due to harmful emissions of chemicals that posses health problems to consumers.

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Reasons for Adopting

Using reusable coffee cups leads to a reduction of overall waste in society. In 2015, Starbucks set a goal of serving 25% of all their beverages in reusable cups (Starbucks, n.d.). The company also declared its intentions to improve the recycling infrastructure in all its packaging materials to reduce environmental pollution. Reusing the cups is the top priority in the waste material hierarchy. The waste burden is reduced because the consumers can use one cup for several times. This aspect helps them to spend less money on coffee. The coffee shops have supported the initiative by launching discounts to the customers who use the reusable cups in consumption of coffee (Starbucks, n.d.). Besides, it saves the companies the cost of purchasing new cups, thus reducing total expenses. Therefore, reusable cups companies majored in production of these items and promoting them through the coffee hubs such as Starbucks.

Reasons Against Adopting

Adoption of reusable cups was based on a belief that single-use cups were rarely recyclable. Besides, they could not be composted because they lacked adequate industrial composting materials. Reusing the cups saves money to the consumers and reduces wastage of resources. However, consumer convenience level becomes lower when they carry the reusable cans around and washing before using (Ferreira, 2018). High greenhouse emission when using the cups starts after using the cup many times. Although it takes a long time for the reusable materials to harm the environment, the consequences will eventually happen to offset the benefits they have to people in the short-run (Maye, Kirwan &Brunori, 2019). The greenhouse emissions start due to the higher amount of energy used and the hot water needed to wash them. Therefore, they may not be the best choice to adopt by the sellers.

Additionally, the environmental burden of reusable coffee cups comes from using hot water and application of detergents when washing them. Each time a cup is cleaned, there is an adverse environmental effect attached to it. The impact on the surroundings depends on the type of detergent and temperatures of the water used. Hot water causes environmental harm than cold water. On the other hand, disposable coffee cups are made using virgin tree fiber because of hygiene requirements (Raabus, 2019). Making them using recycled fiber would lead to contamination of the coffee. The plastic lining makes the cup to remain waterproof, but most paper mills do not have the necessary technology to process them(Wood, 2019). However, compostable coffee cups can be used because they do not leave any residues. The materials used to make them break easily along with the collected food waste, making them the perfect elements to be used for making the coffee cups.

The use of disposable cups can continue shortly because of the development of a technology capable of separating the thin plastic from the tree fiber material. Thus, companies do not need to reuse cups severally. The virgin paper fibers used in the coffee cups are an essential resource when they are separated from the plastic lining. In the UK, there is technology, which separates the paper fiber from the plastic lining (Raabus, 2019). The material is used again, and the plastic material is recycled to start making building materials and making garden furniture. The firms have the capabilities of processing more than 4.5 billion cups of coffee each year, which is 2 billion higher than what is consumed in the UK each year (Wood, 2019). Retaining the disposable plastic cups can be useful because they can be recycled by massively investing in research and innovation to separate the plastic from the tree fiber.

Conclusion

Overall, reusable coffee cups have a couple of benefits in society. Using the cups reduces the waste materials since they can be used for an extended period before they are disposed of. They also allow consumers to enjoy to their preferred type of coffee at a reduced price and at their own convenience. However, they have long-term adverse effects on the environment. They start emitting the greenhouse gases after being used for more than 100 times, which may pose numerous threats to individuals' health. Nonetheless, due to the development of technologies capable of separating the plastic lining from the virgin tree fiber, disposable cups can still be used. Therefore, it is always safe to use disposable cups than using reusable coffee cups because of the long term benefits.

References

Ferreira, J. (2018). Fostering sustainable behavior in retail: Looking beyond the coffee cup. Social Business, 8(1), 21-28.

Maye, D., Kirwan, J., &Brunori, G. (2019). Ethics and responsibilization in agri-food governance: The single-use plastics debate and strategies to introduce reusable coffee cups in UK retail chains. Agriculture and Human Values, 36(2), 301-312.

Raabus, C. (2019). Changing our habits beyond reusable cups and containers is what will help the environment. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/life/what-will-really-help-the-environment-is-changing-our-habits/10867676

Starbucks. (n.d). Reusable Cups. Retrieved from https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/global-report/environmental-stewardship/reusable-cups

Wood, C. (2019, August 27). Why your reusable coffee cup may be no better than a disposable, The Conversation, Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/why-your-reusable-coffee-cup-may-be-no-better-than-a-disposable-120949