Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Coffee Cups: Re-usable Plastic, Paper, or Styrofoam?

QUESTION:

How many cups of coffee do I have to drink out of my re-usable plastic travel mug to be more eco-friendly than using a disposable paper or styrofoam cup?

ANSWER:

Please see 3 URLs with links to studies on the use of reusable plastic mugs versus paper or styrofoam cups from an environmental point of view. I hope this information will help you with your choice of cups.

Thank you for your question,   — Flo

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• Ask Pablo: The Coffee Mug Debacle – This article compares the use of a 16 oz. stainless steel mug, a ceramic mug, and a styrofoam cup:
  http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/ask-pablo-the-coffee-mug-debac-002246.php
• Reusable vs. Disposable Cups - University of Victoria 1994 This classic life-cycle energy analysis was performed by University of Victoria professor of chemistry Martin B. Hocking. Hocking compared three types of reusable drinking cups (ceramic, glass and reusable plastic) to two types of disposable cups (paper and polystyrene foam).
  http://www.ilea.org/lcas/hocking1994.html