The Sustainability of To-Go Cups

Nina
Sep 10, 2024
5 min read

Updated: Sep 24, 2024

Our planet is drowning in waste, and a big part of that problem is to-go cups. You see garbage bins overflowing with cups, you see them along the road and swimming in the ocean. The impact of this waste on our water, our oceans, and our health is dramatic. If we continue like this, by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish (WWF).

This is our current situation, however, the focus of this article should not be on assigning blame and creating anxiety. Rather, it should point out facts, examples, ideas and encourage some reflection. Here's the first thought I'd like to leave you with: Ten years ago, reusable water bottles were a rarity and today we all use them. So how can we achieve a similar change in behaviour with coffee cups? What steps are needed to change the dialog about coffee cups?

Facts & Figures

First of all, it is difficult to give exact figures as there are different sources and the quality of environmental data is difficult to grasp. The figures I’m sharing here are cross-verified from multiple sources.

In the US, the numbers vary by source, but estimates say about 50 billion cups end up in the landfill every year in the US. (source)
In the UK, approximately 2.5 billion single use coffee cups are used every year, and this works out at 7 million cups every day. (source)
In Vancouver, Canada, we use 2.6 million cups, paper and plastic, a week. That's more than four cups per city resident. (source)
500 billion paper coffee cups are produced worldwide each year (estimated number).

Major coffee chains like Starbucks have a massive impact on the problem as well. Starbucks alone uses more than 8,000 cups a minute across its 35,000 stores in 80 countries. This adds ups to more than four billion cups a year. (source)

Why Are To-Go Cups Bad for the Environment?

The disposable cup is indeed no gift to the environment. The production is harmful to the environment, and unfortunately, the cup cannot be recycled. On this website, you can find a great graphic of the cup's footprint, but here is a short list of the main reasons:

Due to the polyethylene-lined coating on the inside of most disposable cups, they are generally not recyclable. This coating is necessary to maintain cup stability and repel liquids, keeping your beverage hot. Polyethylene is a petroleum-based plastic.
There are plastic lids made of polypropylene and lids made from polystyrene, a type of non-biodegradable plastic that is one of the worst contributors to micro-plastics.
The main material of the cup consists of wood and bark chips, which are processed into wood pulp, then bleached and formed into paper cups.

What Can Each One of Us Do?

My first suggestion would be to enjoy your coffee sitting down, whether at home or in a coffee shop. If you're at home, you can use your first cup of coffee to wake up, reflect on the day ahead, listen to a podcast, have breakfast or chat with your living partner. If you're at a coffee shop, you can actually sit down and enjoy the typically beautiful interior of these places and take it as an opportunity for a break. Invite a friend and make it a little everyday date.

However, I'm aware that our world moves too fast, alarm clocks ring too early and we simply don't have time to sit down for our coffee. So we should all make it a habit to bring your own cup when grabbing a coffee or tea to go. I would guess that about 90% of our coffee purchases are planned in advance so that we can use our own cup. There are so many cute options available today and they are designed to be lightweight and portable, making them easy to carry in a bag. If you want to support your favorite coffee shop, get one of their cups.

Personally, there was a time when I was really good at bringing my own cup. I probably reduced my to-go cups to 2-3 a month. In the last few months, though, I have slacked off a bit, so this is also a reminder to myself. But during the week, I often just drink my coffee at home and on the weekend, in a coffee shop with my partner and friends.

Last call to action: Education. If you already bring your own reusable cup, encourage your friends and family to do the same, spread awareness about the environmental impact of disposable cups. This could be a cute Christmas gift - a reusable cup from your family's or friend's favourite coffee shop.

What Can Cities and Businesses Do?

There are a few initiatives that cities and businesses can take to reduce the number of to-go cups.

Incentivize Reusable Cups: Coffee shops and restaurants can offer discounts to customers who bring their own reusable cups. Many places already do this, but stronger incentives, such as loyalty points or larger discounts, can encourage greater participation.
Promote Cup-Sharing Programs: Introduce reusable cup-sharing systems, where customers can borrow cups and return them to any participating location. This can be easily tracked using apps or deposit systems, encouraging widespread use without having to carry your own cup. In Vancouver, there are two companies I know of that do this: Reusables and ShareWares. At ShareWares (no ad), you get your coffee in a reusable cup and you can dispose of it in containers at various locations. Before returning it, you scan the cup and get a refund to your app. Even Tim Hortons is a member, so no excuses about the inconvenience of returns, there are Timmies everywhere.
Charge for Disposable Cups: Some businesses have introduced a small fee for disposable cups. Charging customers an extra fee when they use a to-go cup incentivizes them to choose a reusable option. This was the case in Vancouver for a while, which I thought was fantastic, but because of Covid, the system was scrapped.
Stop Branding To-Go Cups: Coffee shops could stop using single cups for branding. Many coffee shops have cute cups and encourage people to buy them and post them on social media. I've done this before, and I really think that a boring white to-go cup would already reduce consumption a bit. Social media rules. ;)

Researching this article and reading it hopefully makes one key point clear: We need to address our coffee cup consumption by either bringing our own cups or enjoying coffee sitting down. There's really no way around it and it cannot be glossed over.