Are Ceramic Coffee Cups Greener Than Disposable Coffee Cups?

We often look at the arguments for greener options in our lives, and wonder - just because it's greener how much energy did it take to produce this green product? How long do we have to use this greener option to make it truly green? It is a question that Single Serve Coffee has been looking at for years, and we've finally found said answer. A Dutch study that demonstrated that we have to drink a lot of coffee out of our ceramic cup to beat out the paper or polystyrene one. Now a new study from the University of Victoria confirms this feeling that greener isn't always greener (or at least not right away).

According to Adharanand Finn in the Guardian, one needs to use the ceramic cup over 1,000 times to outdo the polystyrene cup, and even more compared to paper. It may not sound very plausible - but on closer inspection the arguments seem to add up. Firstly, ceramic cups use more energy in their production. Second, there is all the hot water and washing-up liquid used when you wash up your mug. Third there's the environmental consequences of distributing ceramic mugs - because they are bigger and heavier than polystyrene cups, which can be tightly stacked, you are looking at more ship and lorry journeys, using more fuel. And, finally, polystyrene cups can be more easily recycled. So hang on to your ceramic or stainless steel mug and in three or four years you will have made a difference.

Read more at Are Ceramic Cups Greener Than Disposables?

Read More in: Coffee Cups & Travel Mugs

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