In the last article we showed you that the waste of single-use products, especially disposable cups, is a huge problem. It is estimated that every year worldwide 500 billion disposable cups will be put into circulation.
The answer to the question of whether a reusable cup is more sustainable than a disposable cup depends on many factors. According to a German study, the impact of disposable cups on the environment is manageable, but also avoidable. One could argue that a disposable cup only consists of around 8 grams of paper, which can be recycled. However, this consideration ignores the fact that most disposable paper cups have a plastic coating on the inside. This point again rules out recyclability.
Reusable cups, on the other hand, are made from more robust materials such as stainless steel. The production of such cups consumes more resources and is more complex than that of disposable cups.
The deciding factor as to whether a reusable cup is more sustainable depends on how often it is used before it is disposed of.
The study assumes that a reusable cup is used more than 50 times in the first year. If you compare the consumption of resources during production with the repeated use of reusable cups, the perspective changes: the more often a reusable cup is used, the lower the impact on the environment, as the environmental impact caused by production and disposal is less significant compared to frequent use. If a reusable cup is reused at least 10 times, or better still more than 25 times, the choice of a reusable cup is generally associated with positive effects on the environment.
This means that the more often you use your IRISgo ® cup and at the same time avoid disposable cups, the more sustainable you are on the go and the more you contribute to the reduction of single-use plastic.
Support us in our fight against the throwaway society and choose our sustainable reusable cups to reduce the use of single-use plastic in our environment.
Sources:
https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/oekologe-befassung-einweggetraenkebecher