As
environmental advocates, we should always seek ways to reduce our carbon
footprint. Of course we always have our little actions that we do on daily
basis like turning off our lighting systems, air conditioners, heaters and any
other electrical equipment when not in use.
However,
we need to ask ourselves, is what we do really enough to contribute to the
safety of our environment? Definitely not, therefore we need to step into a
larger sphere by using environmentally friendly and sustainable products that
reduce the use of fossil fuel and one of the ways to do that is by using
compostable cups.
Every
day, millions of people around the world take their coffee either in a glass
cup or conventional disposable cups. This can either be at the restaurants,
public gatherings, hotels, homes and streets. According to my observation, in
Malaysia, most people take their cup of coffee at the restaurants and
cafeterias and the disadvantage of using conventional paper cup is that it contains
plastic lining made from petrochemical products that would produce enough heat
energy that can be used for other purposes. Not only that but also the waste
collection methods in the above places are not convenient enough as most people
tend to throw the rubbish to whom it may concern.
On
the other hand, a compostable cup is much more eco-friendly than the
conventional paper cups because it is 100% made from natural and renewable
plant and trees materials. According to research by Brewster Smythe (2011), the
compostable cup is made of paperboard coated with polyethylene to avoid liquid
spill. It also uses Polylactic acid (PLA) to create a water proof barrier on
the paperboard. With this in mind, we can conserve the consumption of
non-renewable petrochemicals to make the conventional cups.
One
can argue that we can use recycling as a mean to control the waste but practicing
it is still the main problem in the community. Most people mix all the wastes in
the same bin without separating the recyclable and non-recyclable materials,
hence allowing extra cost and time in managing the waste.
All of us want to do our part when it comes to
saving our planet and saving energy. Perhaps asking your favorite coffeehouse
owner to offer compostable cups could be another step in the right direction or
buying compostable cups to use during any occasion and gatherings would save
you the cost and time for waste collection.
