This is on the front page of Care2.com, por favor go and vote for it!
Lil’ story; there’s a coffee place near here called Cup A Joe, which has some good coffee and a really nice atmosphere that reminds me of good ol’ Asheville. I’ve been there many-a-time, since they have two locations around NC State.
Anyhoo, last week, mi jefe wondered aloud why Cup A Joe uses styrofoam cups instead of paper. I was like dang, I don’t know. So I wrote them an email asking if they’d considered using paper cups, and asking how they could use styrofoam cups when they knew it made Captain Planet weep green tears. I got a quick reply which showed that they had indeed thought of “green” issues when making their business decisions:
Paper Cups Cause More Trash than Styrofoam Cups
It turns out that when Cup A Joe used paper cups, “almost 100% of [their] customers demand[ed] the added cardboard sleeve”, which the styrofoam cups do not require.
Also as well additionally, it turns out styrofoam is an excellent material for recycling. Here’s what Cup A Joe had to say: “We recycle a large percentage of the cups. Many customers return their used cups for that purpose. It is a small expense for us, but worth it.”
Paper Cups Don’t Biodegrade
Well, they do eventually (as does anything, eventually), but it takes much more time than I’d thought for a paper cup to biodegrade. The gubmint says, “Modern landfills are designed to inhibit degradation so that toxic wastes do not seep into the surrounding soil and groundwater. The paper cup will still be a paper cup 20 years from now.”
Paper Cups Use More Raw Materials and Energy Than Styrofoam (And Cost More)
This was a surprise to me.
“A study by Canadian scientist Martin Hocking shows that making a paper cup uses as much petroleum or natural gas as a polystyrene cup. Plus, the paper cup uses wood pulp. The Canadian study said, ‘The paper cup consumes 12 times as much steam, 36 times as much electricity, and twice as much cooling water as the plastic cup.’ And because the paper cup uses more raw materials and energy, it also costs 2.5 times more than the plastic cup.”
Reusable Cups Are Teh Way To Go
Final thoughts from Cup A Joe:
“Finally, we have always tried to provide an atmosphere and a level of service that sort of induces folks to sit down and enjoy their coffee in our shops. My guess is that we do more ‘eat-in’ business than all of the Starbucks in Raleigh put together. This sort of business means our people have to hustle to keep up with washing dishes, but also that neither paper, nor cardboard, not styro is needed to consume the coffee. Anyway, hope this helps. And thanks for asking. Frankly, we are surprised that more people don’t ask.”
There you have it. A good eco-friendly reason to (if you must use disposable cups) use styrofoam cups instead of paper cups. It sounded crazy to me at first, but after reading about it, I realized it was crazy like a fox.
February 12th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
How about skip the taste of paper or styrofoam entirely and drink your coffee like a civilized adult, instead of some four-year-old at his birthday party in a party hat: use a real cup or mug.
It’s even eco-friendly, without the crappy synthetic aftertaste.
February 12th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
great post. i love when simple steps toward living green just evolve out of nowhere like that.
brining your own mug is definitely the way to go! you should ask that coffee shop if they’d be willing to give a discount for patrons who bring their own mug. Even Starbucks gives a .10 cent discount for this.
February 12th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
wow thats crazy. I had no idea.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:45 am
swag: I agree, reusable cups/mugs/tazas are the way to go. But you have to use reusable mugs MANY times to make up for all the extra energy it takes to make them.
Jeffery: Dang, that is a great idea. I’ll ask them if they’re willing to do that.
Matt Ellsworth: Me neither yo, me neither.
February 14th, 2008 at 12:21 am
pretty sure but not positive that the new paper cups that most eco-conscious coffee shops use is better than styrofoam. These compostable cups use corn sugars now not petroleum to line the inside (won’t break down with coffee heat, but will break down by microbes). Some include recycled products, some are made from corn not trees. they are also recyclable.
sure, in the best of worlds people would have a low-energy-produced long-lasting coffee mug (a ceramic made on a foot peddle kiln that never cracks or breaks no matter how carelessly one mishandles it…) though at this point, at least out of the home, what most oft replaces paper with are not very long-lasting plastic travel mugs (or styrofoam), and they are surely not healthy, inside (your body) or out (piled high at the dump).
February 14th, 2008 at 12:26 am
errrr it’s supposed to say foot peddle wheel and solar kilnn xo
February 14th, 2008 at 11:16 am
c-girl: Ah, I haven’t heard of those new paper cups, but they sound good. I’m guessing they’re more expensive than the disposable cups most coffee shops use — if they can get the price down, people will buy it.
Also, for paper cups, most people will use that extra insulation sleeve. Forilla, the best solution is just a reusable mug.
Dang, I used a foot-pedal wheel a LONG time ago, I need to get back to that.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:24 pm
What about polystyrene food containers then? Better in the same way?
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:27 am
The paper vs. plastic argument all over again. At one point, making styrofoam created CFCs (the same deleterious element associated with hairsprays). I don’t have the proof, but I think those production practices were made illegal.
I’m with the ‘best is a reusable mug’ set, with natural material cups next.
February 25th, 2008 at 11:39 am
[...] Javaholics everywhere have their own rituals and ways for consuming hot, steamy servings of charcoal water. But when it comes to buying coffee from a coffee shop, they usually deliver your half-caf mocha latte in a paper cup surrounded by that little carboard sleeve. Ever considered which was more “green?” [...]
February 26th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
[...] Paper Cups Versus Styrofoam Cups: Surprise Winner | Green Thinking for the Average Joe “A study by Canadian scientist Martin Hocking shows that making a paper cup uses as much petroleum or natural gas as a polystyrene cup. Plus, the paper cup uses wood pulp. The Canadian study said, ‘The paper cup consumes 12 times as much steam, 36 times as much electricity, and twice as much cooling water as the plastic cup.’ And because the paper cup uses more raw materials and energy, it also costs 2.5 times more than the plastic cup.” [...]
February 26th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
It’s a fine hypothetical argument when you’re sure that the cup will be disposed of in a certain way. Think of the worst case scenario … that the cup ends up in the ocean. Eventually those bits of cup will end up in the tummies of sea creatures. The paper bits usually pass … the plastic might but usually just clogs up the digestion of millions of creatures and is often the cause of early death of chicks for many seabirds.
Yes, go with reusable cups. But if I must buy coffee when I’m out and about (and I rarely do), it’s gotta be in a paper cup. (I throw mine in the recycling if I bring it home with me.)
February 26th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Unfortunately, Styrofoam leaches chemicals into hot food. It actually has less mass after drinking that hot coffee then it did before you put the coffee in it. That means you are ingesting it! Although paper does take a long time to biodegrade, styrofoam doesn’t biodegrade. EVER. Some counties have ban the use of styrofoam altogether. I do hope people are recycling it, but I am quite sure most people don’t. Recycling is actually not the best option as it takes energy. Bringing your own cup is better for you and the planet. Thanks!
February 26th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Yeah, in an ideal world, everyone would bring their own reusable cup. Some coffee places offer a discount if you do.
Drinking styrofoam sounds bad
If I don’t remember a reusable mug next time, I’m just gonna cup my hands and have them pour the coffee into them.
February 27th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Alison is right on. There are many chemicals building up in our bodies that require a diet RICH in antioxidants to even stand a chance at being purged.
I’m loosely acquainted with a master herbalist who knows a mortician that informed her morticians are now able to use around 40% less embalming fluid than they once had to. Why?
Because we’re embalming ourselves while we’re alive!
February 27th, 2008 at 9:34 am
[...] Paper or Styrofoam? 27 02 2008 Paper Cups Versus Styrofoam Cups: Surprise Winner Eco Joe’s: LINK [...]
February 27th, 2008 at 10:04 am
@Jeffrey: Interesting. It seems like a cheap way to mummify oneself, if you just ingest a bunch of styrofoam and other fun chemicals.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:15 am
I don’t know why paper is so bad, but i think paper cups are so much stronger than regular cups so i think we should try to make paper cups use less energy
February 29th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Paper cups are bad because they use a lot of raw materials, energy, and they cause more trash. Regular cups (I’m guessing you meant reusable mugs when you wrote that) are a lot stronger than paper cups.
March 18th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
[...] For instance, Eco Joe’s lays out some good points on paper vs. Styrofoam cups. [...]
March 28th, 2008 at 6:37 am
[...] tazas de “papel” es más caro y usa más materias primas que las de poliestireno. En EcoJoes se menciona un estudio canadiense que afirma que hacer tazas de “papel” es 2,5 veces [...]
March 29th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
A lot of “assumptive” enviromentalists out there….
Styrofoam is much more enviromentally safe than paper.
-2grams of material compose a styrofoam cup versus the 25 grams of a paper cup
-Styrofoam does NOT breakdown which is a benefit in contrast to paper which doesn’t really breakdown but when it does it will pollute our groundwater with harmful inks and dyes. Styrofoam can be recycled.
-Simple math: there is a reason Styrofoam costs less than paper cups IT TAKES MUCH LESS ENERGY TO PRODUCE STYROFOAM THAN PAPER
Seems to me that much like we are learning now about how Bio fuels destroy the enviroment more than they help translates directly to the debate on paper vs. foam. To the causual enviromentalist paper is a better choice but to those who decide to educate themself and try to make a difference there really is only one choice. Foam is better for the enviroment that paper can ever be.
April 8th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Folks, even Starbucks will tell you about issues with paper;
http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=792
April 16th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
The Myth of “Styrofoam Cups”
Styrofoam cups do not exist! “How can that be?” you say, “I just drank from one this morning!”
Nope. You probably drank from a polystyrene cup. Styrofoam is a trademarked material made by the Dow Chemical Company - and they do not make cups, plates, egg cartons or other food packaging products from it! A direct quote from Dow Chemical says: “Next time you get a cup of java to go, remember, you can’t drink coffee from a styrofoam cup - because there is no such thing!”
Interesting huh? At least we now know what we are actually debating.
taken from
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2008/04-08/foam-cups-polystyrene-cups-article.htmApril 16th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Blast you, I was wondering if anyone else was going to mention that. I’d say Styrofoam is in the same class of words as Scotch tape, Band-Aids, and Kleenex, in that it now means more than just a specific brand to most people.
But thanks for the information anyhoo
May 12th, 2008 at 9:42 am
dont you think paper cups are beter than strofoam cups kobie does i know that for shr
May 12th, 2008 at 9:44 am
hey ecojoe did you make up this web site?
i was just woundering?
May 12th, 2008 at 9:46 am
what gaige was saying is paper is stronger, and can’t you recycle paper cups anyway because there paper duuuu
May 12th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Kobe, when did you forget how to spell your own name? Looks like skipping college was a mistake, buddy.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:51 am
will any one talk to me
June 4th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Do your homework people. Styrofoam weighs less as you use it. This means it is leeching chemicals into your food or coffee as you use it. Anyone who proposes the usage of this stuff is nuts.
June 14th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Sell a re-usable mug that is bigger by the amount you save in not giving out cups at all! Offer to wash it out for ‘free’ OR: Make the cups from thick cheap durable heat resistant Hemp fiber! Hemp grow a new crop every year, not so for trees, and once oil is used it is gone! Hemp grows where weeds grow, in poorer soil, not fit for food-crops. Hemp is against the law because in 1930s, no one could detect TCP! so no one (the cops) could tell what you were growing! This is no longer true, we can detect TCP with a simple lab test, and press charges where needed! The law, however is still lost in the 1930s, much as our car industry and many other business practises in America are. We need to move to the 21st cetury or be mowed down by China, who is in the same race, but winning at the moment!
June 16th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Uncle B, I have to say I love your enthusiasm. If we do not beat China in the Hemp War, then who will????
No one, that’s who.
July 17th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Has anyone considered the energy and waste water used when washing reuseable cups? I’m in an office where we just got rid of our styrofoam cups - only reuseable mugs from now on. But we don’t have a dishwasher so these mugs must be individually hand washed. This must use a lot of BTUs. Is anybody really thinking about these things or are we all just going crazy?
July 17th, 2008 at 8:58 am
If you leave the hot water running the whole time you’re washing your cup, it will use a lot of water and electricity. But if you just soap up the mug, scrub it, then turn on the water to rinse it, you’ll save a lot o’ water and energy. Also, there’s not really a need to use hot water.
I also have to admit that I use a reusable mug at my work, but I avoid your problem by just not washing my cup.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I didn’t sift through all of the comments to see if anyone included this, but…
-what about the Chlouroflourocarbons that Styrofoam emits as it decomposes? The CFCs are absorbed into the atmosphere and eventually attack the Ozone layer.
-and the styrene that is absorbed in food/drinks that later, in small amounts, is ingested by humans and (when in waste disposals) animals? styrene can cause a disruption in hormone levels, low platelet counts, chromosome and lymphsome irregularities etc.
Interesting experiement, I was just wondering if the chemicals above were considered when advocating styrofoam over paper.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Luckily, “the CFC byproducts are a thing of the past“.
As for the styrene absorption, yes, that would be a knock against styrofoam. When it comes down to it, using a reusable mug is the way to go.