Coffee cups and plastic bottles
Hello Everyone,
Today I am going to talk about Coffee cups and plastic bottles.
Sadly there is no right answer to being completely green when talking about reusable bottles. Surprisingly the production of the one use plastic bottle has less environmental impact than that of aluminium cans/bottles and glass bottles. Though glass and aluminium can be recycled again and again, plastic bottles cannot be continuously recycled. Aluminium has worse environmental impacts than glass during production, due to the way it is mined. None of these options are made from renewable resources, glass is probably the best in this category as it is made from a more common resource.
So what can you do as the consumer? The decision on what to do is an impossible one as none of these options are green. I myself was drawn to buying an aluminium reusable bottle, later realising how much of an impact the production process has. Perhaps the solution is simple, go without. Most of the time you are within distance to a public water fountain, or a tap and a glass. As I already have an aluminium bottle, I will continue to use it for as long as possible. But when making purchases such as this, always think about the creation of the product, as well as its end point.
The second part of this post is about Coffee cups. Why, oh why do people buy into these things? Most one use coffee cups ACTUALLY have a lining of plastic inside them, to prevent the cup from going soggy and leaking. This means that, although they are made from card, they cannot be recycled. It makes their disposal very difficult. The best way to solve this problem, is to sit down and drink it from a mug. The alternative, is to buy a reusable coffee cup. I bought an ecoffee cup on a whim at a service station. I have later discovered that this is considered one of the most eco friendly cups out there. It is made from bamboo, which is fast growing and biodegradable. According to ecoffee website, when you are done with your cup you just soak it in boiling water and put it on your compost heap. Apparently the silicone lid and sleeve is also recyclable in certain areas. Who knew! Have a look around, there are other options out there produced from recycled one use coffee cups as well.
Thank you for reading :)
Today I am going to talk about Coffee cups and plastic bottles.
Sadly there is no right answer to being completely green when talking about reusable bottles. Surprisingly the production of the one use plastic bottle has less environmental impact than that of aluminium cans/bottles and glass bottles. Though glass and aluminium can be recycled again and again, plastic bottles cannot be continuously recycled. Aluminium has worse environmental impacts than glass during production, due to the way it is mined. None of these options are made from renewable resources, glass is probably the best in this category as it is made from a more common resource.
So what can you do as the consumer? The decision on what to do is an impossible one as none of these options are green. I myself was drawn to buying an aluminium reusable bottle, later realising how much of an impact the production process has. Perhaps the solution is simple, go without. Most of the time you are within distance to a public water fountain, or a tap and a glass. As I already have an aluminium bottle, I will continue to use it for as long as possible. But when making purchases such as this, always think about the creation of the product, as well as its end point.
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| Aluminium reusable water bottle (also a thermos) |
The second part of this post is about Coffee cups. Why, oh why do people buy into these things? Most one use coffee cups ACTUALLY have a lining of plastic inside them, to prevent the cup from going soggy and leaking. This means that, although they are made from card, they cannot be recycled. It makes their disposal very difficult. The best way to solve this problem, is to sit down and drink it from a mug. The alternative, is to buy a reusable coffee cup. I bought an ecoffee cup on a whim at a service station. I have later discovered that this is considered one of the most eco friendly cups out there. It is made from bamboo, which is fast growing and biodegradable. According to ecoffee website, when you are done with your cup you just soak it in boiling water and put it on your compost heap. Apparently the silicone lid and sleeve is also recyclable in certain areas. Who knew! Have a look around, there are other options out there produced from recycled one use coffee cups as well.
 |
| Reusable coffee cup, made from bamboo and recyclable sillicone |
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