Eco-friendly coffee cups use corn to cut waste
Submitted on August 14, 2006 - 12:00am.
A.N. Hernández - Summer 2006
WASHINGTON – Sugar and cream are vital to many for a good cup o' joe. An alliance of coffee growers and cup makers say corn is a good addition, too.
Corn-based coffee cups would create an “eco-friendly” choice for consumers shuddering at the thought of mountains of trash created by the 39 billion disposable paper and polystyrene coffee cups American throw away every year.
International Paper estimates the discarded 14.4 billion conventional paper coffee cups alone, put together end-to-end, would circle the earth 55 times.
That's a lot of trash entering the country's already overburdened landfills. Considering the United States' dependence on foreign oil, if coffee drinkers can help by using corn-based products, they should, right?
Corn-based coffee cups would create an “eco-friendly” choice for consumers shuddering at the thought of mountains of trash created by the 39 billion disposable paper and polystyrene coffee cups American throw away every year.
International Paper estimates the discarded 14.4 billion conventional paper coffee cups alone, put together end-to-end, would circle the earth 55 times.
That's a lot of trash entering the country's already overburdened landfills. Considering the United States' dependence on foreign oil, if coffee drinkers can help by using corn-based products, they should, right?
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