Paper Cup – Recycling Woes

The basic concept of a Brisbane paper cup is that it is disposable. Through design, even if the main material is paper, it was manufactured to be capable of holding liquid contents (water, soda, coffee, milk, juices, etc.) the cup is to get the drinks on the go in terms of convenience (from one place to the other) and hygiene.

In terms of sustainability, these are thought out as sustainable since trees are responsibly produced (farmed and grown) and conceived to be totally recyclable. (The number of facilities is still limited, but they can now be recycled.)

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On the sanitation side, these products are made to meet the most stringent health, safety and food hygiene regulations and standards.(The main purpose is to keep the consumer safe.)

Environment-friendly

These cups are made of paper in the context that they shall be disposable. In the advent of everyone being consciousness of the environment and the idea of pollution, the cup was then thought out to be recyclable and environment-friendly.

The cup’s design was originally to keep it water-resistant. Liquids are prevented from leaking out or soaking through the main material made of paper (or those cellulose materials that are used in making paper).

The cups used to hold cold drinks are not treated the same way. The reason is water condensation that forms outside the cup. This soaks into the paper material and makes it soggy and unstable.

Evolution

A Finnish company in 2017 launched a new kind of cup that has no wax or plastic for waterproofing. This breakthrough makes it possible to recycle the cup like any normal way paper and board are recycled.

The reports had it that the cup is made of biodegradable materials and can even be composted in smaller quantities. There also had been a recyclable Brisbane paper cup made in the UK. It has materials made of polyethylene and mineral-blended coating. The saving grace is that the engineering makes it recyclable.

Recycling question

There had been pressure on sourcing with the fact that the paper cups are designed for single use mainly considering the contamination concerns and regulations. This is aside from the use of the paper, but these other uses are now stabilized with recycling.

Currently, the material sources for paper cups are not able to sustain the demand from all over the world, considering that the cups are made of 92% wood fiber. However, paper cups make up only 0.7% of the total paper packaging waste total.  Experts deem it still is huge enough to warrant a recycling solution.

Plastic content

There is also the question of plastics where the paper cups are coated with polyethylene. This fact makes it exempt for recycling because of the difficulty in separating the plastic from the paper part.

Polyethylene is petroleum-based coating on a paper cup. Unfortunately, it slows down the process of biodegrading of the paper. The paper, however, is one of the easiest biodegradable materials in the world. While the paper is easily composted, the lining is not because it contaminates water streams. This makes it unfit for use.