| Ceramic Cups vs Paper Cups | | | | The argument is worse when you compare Ceramic |
| Many coffee chains in the UK and US are now | | | | Cups with Plastic Glasses |
| offering discounts if customers take ceramic coffee | | | | Using china would be an ethical no brainer were it not |
| cups instead of using the stores own paper cups. | | | | for Work carried out by Dr Martin Hocking, Reusable |
| Most are lauded for their commitment to "going | | | | and Disposable Cups: an Energy-Based Evaluation. He |
| green" but is there any proof that these changes will | | | | concluded you'd need to use your ceramic mug 1,006 |
| have the desired effect and minimise our negative | | | | times for it to break even (in energy terms) with its |
| effect on the earth? | | | | polystyrene competitor. This is largely because kilns |
| Research from the early 1990s suggests that each | | | | are extraordinarily energy intensive, because using a |
| time you clean a ceramic cup in the dishwasher, it | | | | dishwasher to wash the cup also uses energy, and |
| takes about as much energy - and would probably | | | | because mugs get broken. Plastic cups also had a |
| produce as many emissions - as it takes simply to | | | | reasonably good recycling infrastructure in place: the |
| produce a new paper cup! | | | | UK's Save a Cup programme saveacup.co.uk still |
| Gains in dishwasher efficiency since then may have | | | | collects millions of plastic glasses from vending |
| changed the math a little, but if you wash your | | | | machines. |
| ceramic cup after every use, you could easily be | | | | It seems whether an individual or massive coffee |
| talking hundreds of cups of coffee before your mug | | | | house you cannot win sometimes, whatever we do |
| makes more sense than a daily dose of paper. | | | | we seem to leave waste, create more waste, or |
| Cleaning the mug by hand may not absolve you, | | | | anger some groups with our actions. Who really |
| either - although you can help your case by using cold | | | | considers all of the above when all you actually want |
| water and be sparse with the washing up liquid - | | | | is a Mocha Frappuccino, and quick? |
| detergents are pretty energy-intensive to make. | | | | |