The People’s Republic of Berkeley, California, takes pride in its leadership on all things civic and environmental. The small liberal city east of San Francisco was one of the first U.S. cities to adopt curbside recycling. It banned styrofoam and was early to take on plastic shopping bags. Earlier this year, the Berkeley City Council put on notice a new environmental scourge: the to-go coffee cup.
Executives have long suspected this day would come. Separately and together, they’ve been working on a more environmentally friendly alternative to the plastic-lined, double-walled, plastic-lidded paper cup for more than a decade.“It nags at my soul,” said Scott Murphy, COO of Dunkin’ Brands Group, which goes through 1 billion coffee cups a year. He’s been working on the chain’s cup redesign since it pledged to stop using foam in 2010.
Meanwhile, companies like Georgia-Pacific and International Paper have grown along with the market for disposable cups, which hit US$12 billion in 2016. By 2026, it’s expected to be closer to US$20 billion. The chain finally settled on a double-walled plastic-lined paper cup, thick enough to protect sippers’ hands without an external sleeve and compatible with existing lids. They’re made from ethically sourced paper and biodegrade faster than foam, but that’s about it — they’re more expensive to make and aren’t recyclable most places.
How about cardboard cups... no brainer
Acetone dissolves most plastic and is not harmful to the environment
Want to help the environment? Start a campaign to ban most plastics!
Get rid of half of the socialists in toronto? And you won’t make a dent!
It’s the straw! It’s the straw that’s killing the planet! Not the over fishing! Not the selfish nitwits polluting the city! Not the useless politicians that think a tax will fix it! Not the nitwit cyclists running through every traffic law because they are saving the planet?
China cups, bring your own travel mug, or a compost-friendly take-away cup...
Simple china cups, get away from disposables, suck up the cost
That's why I stand up and say no to environmentalism and their fanatic followers. They have gone too far. Keep your hands off my plastic bags, plastic straws, and coffee cups. Keep your hands off of party balloons. To hell with the green Agenda. It must be stopped.
I guess with the legalization of marijuana or cannabis across North America that the fastfood industry is going to have to start using hemp as an alternative in making of bags, coffeecups and straws as well as other packaging.
Pay for playing. In this case, a DPA for SNC-Lavalin.
The world needs to come together & find better solutions for collection, management & recycling of r garbage. Reducing products is only a part of the problem. CAN gave up over $20 BILLION from lost oil revs last year. Think of what that money could have done for a cleaner planet!
That's okay. Thanks to the carbon tax nobody will be able to afford fast food anymore.
Save money, environment/make your designer coffee. Fresh ground pot, stir in ice cream+whipped cream blend of choice, swish it up. Saves 6 bucks/cup, tastes better. Can make 8 cups for about 3 bucks. Sit outside in sun. Starbucks/hipster coffee dumps go bankrupt. World survives.
When the majority of opposition to anything is based on emotion facts tend to be ignored
Let see .... BYOC? Solved!
No one will stop buying coffee