- 16 billion paper cups end up as solid landfill in the U.S. alone.

- 114.5 million kg’s of solid waste were contributed to paper cups alone*

- A further 1 billion paper cups affect Australia’s waste stream annually.

Most traditional takeaway coffee cups are lined with an oil-based substance to prevent leakage. This makes them unsuitable for any sustainable waste streams (e.g. recycling, composting). Alternatives do exist, including biodegradable paper cups – however in reality is these cups are likely to end up in regular bins and thus landfill. Furthermore, biodegradable materials which end up in landfill/garbage packing machines become more harmful to our environment. Biodegradable cups need air to break down (anaerobically biodegradable), which isn’t supplied in the air-tight environments of garbage packing machinery. As a result, they emit their energy as harmful methane and greenhouse gases (GHG’s) instead.

Reuse is the best option to reducing our impact on landfill. It’s a simple change with little impact to fast-paced modern lifestyles – if taken on individually, we can create great change on a larger scale.

Raising awareness of the impact of takeaway coffee cups is an important step to understanding the benefits of reuse. For more information and background be sure to check out the Coffee Cup Problem page.

You can also calculate your energy impact individually, or as an organisation with the Impact Calculator.

*2006 figures. This is likely to increase with the 1.4% annual growth of the coffee industry globally.