Each year, we throw away 58 billion paper cups, which amounts to 20 million trees-worth (paper cups contain just 10% recycled paper, on average). It takes 12 billion gallons of water to manufacture those cups, and we could power 53,000 homes with the energy used in that process.
Nobody wants to feel guilty....we can just recycle or compost those paper cups, right?
Well, maybe. Most paper cups are coated inside with a thin layer of polystyrene, which makes them really difficult to compost or recycle. Besides that, styrene (used to make polystyrene) is a potential human carcinogen. Even if we get better at recycling and composting, it still takes a lot of water, energy and virgin trees to make paper cups in the first place.
So what's the solution?
The solution is reusable cups, which has been tough, even for Starbucks. They lowered their goal of serving 25% of beverages in "personal tumblers" by 2015 to just 5% by 2015. In 2011, just 1.9% of Starbucks beverages are served in reusable cups.
Zip Cup is part of the solution: by providing a fun and convenient option to bulky, messy coffee cups, Zip Cup aims to help consumers kick the paper cup habit for once and for all.