I was thinking about my reusable coffee mug today, and remembered a conversation I had with my friend Yolanda about the topic.
I decided to look into it, and, in the end, it seems that if you are consistently using your reusable mug you will not only work towards reducing your carbon footprint and waste, but also save a little money along the way!
Generally speaking, it takes a lot more energy and has a bigger negative environmental impact to manufacture a reusable mug and it will sit for longer in the landfill if it is not recyclable (and many of them are not because of the different insulating layers).
But, on the other hand single use cups are typically not made from recycled materials (due to certain sanitation laws that make it difficult to use recycled fibers for this purpose as well as recycled fibers being less sturdy), they are laminated with a plastic resin called polyethylene (which keep the cups from absorbing liquid or leaking and once the cup begins to decompose in the landfill, the polyethylene releases methane gas into the atmosphere) and the manufacturing and shipping process is energy intensive. In 2010, Americans consumed over 23 billion paper cups.
In the end, each reusable cup has a "breaking point", the point where using the reusable mug becomes more environmentally friendly than the disposable cups. A study conducted by a Sustainability Engineer named Pablo Paester indicates that reusable stainless steel mugs break even at 24 uses. Since these mugs are designed to be used thousands of times, the positive environmental impact of using a reusable mug can really outweigh its carbon cost. ( But once again, don't go out and buy a new reusable mug -you probably have some kicking around the house!)
As an added bonus,a lot of companies (Starbucks, Timmies, etc) offer discounts for those who bring their own mugs -awesome!
So, the verdict is that in the -long term, the positive environmental impacts of using reusable mugs far outweighs the negative. They reduce the amount of waste we are sending to landfills and the associated methane gas release and save the happy coffee/tea drinker money!
So, my challenge to me and to you is to bring your reusable mug with you and use it!
Here is a link to one of the articles I read about the topic: http://www.sustainabilityissexy.com/facts.html
What do you guys think? Do you bring your reusable mug?
With Tim Horton's, the discount is 10 cents for a large cup. If you buy a new re-usable mug for $20, you'l break even in 200 drinks. If you take 1 or 2 drinks per day, that you'll break even in about half a year. Also, re-usable mugs are uften just steel with a plastic handle: easy to recycle.
ReplyDeleteP.