Coffee drinkers are passionate about their coffee, but many are still deeply concerned with taking care of the environment. There seems to be a lot of unnecessary waste when it comes to drinking coffee, from needless paper cups tossed into the garbage to mischievous little pods full of grounds and foil coffee bags that seem recyclable but are not.
The number of disposable cups thrown away has risen to an estimated 2.5 billion per year, or around 5,000 per minute, according to the Science Alert.
If only paper is used to make your coffee cups, it can be recycled. If it is paper coated with a thin plastic film, like coffee cups, it can not be recycled because it is not possible to separate the mixed materials. It is also difficult to recycle coffee bags made of plastic. One of the way that you can turn a plastic coffee bag into a planting machine or vase, or you can turn many coffee cups into a reusable tote bag is the way to reuse coffee cups.
Fact: It is not possible to recycle most disposable coffee cups, while customers sometimes believe they can do it.
Here are 6 ways for the coffee drinkers to recycle and to reduce waste
Next time you go out for coffee, carry your own mug or reusable tumbler and avoid recycling paper cups for the coffee cup. Many coffee shops can even provide opportunities to bring your own traveling coffee mug or tumbler, including 10 cents per time you bring your own tumbler.
Visit coffee shops recycling, reducing waste, and offering recycled material cups. We have begun selling some recyclable cups in the UK.
Stop buying coffee foil bags that are not recyclable. Alternatively, buy coffee in bulk or all-paper coffee bags. It is also possible to recycle coffee cups made of plastic or glass but it’s quite complicated process.
If you have a single-use coffee machine at home, consider the new recyclable pods. The popular single use coffee machine which has been now launched as recyclable Green Mountain pods made of #5 plastic. However it is said that currently only 5% of Green Mountain coffee pods are recyclable. The cap should be peeled off and the contents washed out to compost – then they’re ready for recycling. Keurig said they’re aiming to recycle all Cups by 2020.
If you use cream, recycle it half and a half boxes. Cardboard recycling is growing, and in their recycling program many communities are now accepting cartons. Try to avoid single creamer cups because they are not recyclable.
Reuse your home coffee grounds. No, we’re not talking about brewing another batch of not so strong coffee, but about using the grounds as compost, cleaning, or even beauty!
