Single-use, disposable coffee cups are one of the worst things for the environment. Though generally made of paper or cardboard, the insides of the cups are typically lined with plastic polyethylene, a substance that takes hundreds of years to break down. Even then, the substance only turns into microplastics, which end up making their way to our food and water systems, according to Environmental Defence . Some curbside recycling programs accept the cups—provided that they’re empty and rinsed and that the plastic lids are removed (to be placed in their own recycling stream). More often than not, people often end up tossing the cups with the lids still on. According to Zero Waste Canada, 14 billion cups of coffee are consumed in Canada every year, 35 per cent of which are ordered to go — mostly in the form of single-use cups — even when people end having their coffee in the shop. Starbucks has announced that Vancouver will pilot its new Greener Cup initiative. Customers here will join those in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, and London to trial new cups that are designed to be more recyclable and compostable than existing options. The coffee giant is picking […]
Click here to view original web page at Vancouver to pilot Starbucks’ new Greener Cup initiative