Have you, like me, ever been guilty of ordering a to-go coffee in a rush while your thoughts cut to your filthy reusable cup sitting beside the sink in your kitchen covered in the dregs of yesterday\u2019s flat-white?<\/p>\n
In a perfect world, we would all have our reusable cup with us when we needed it.<\/p>\n
It would always be pristine and ready to go<\/p>\n
Sadly, in reality, it doesn\u2019t always work out like that.<\/p>\n
Even though I may have the odd slip up like this, I tell myself, it is still better to own a reusable cup with the intention of using it as often as possible- isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
Writing for the conversation.com, Caroline Wood, a researcher from Sheffield University wrote that although reusable cups have surged in popularity, they typically account for less than 5% of sales in coffee shops where they are sold in the UK.<\/p>\n
She writes: \u201cThe unavoidable truth is that it simply isn\u2019t convenient for people on the run to remember their cup, carry it around and wash it out between uses.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, it can take between 20 and 100 uses for a reusable cup to offset its higher greenhouse gas emissions compared to a disposable, due to the greater amount of energy and material required to make a durable product and the hot water needed to wash them.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Therefore, we need to hold tight to our reusable receptacles in order to get the use out of them that is needed to make their production worthwhile.<\/p>\n
This means that falling victim to human error by losing them is not an option.<\/p>\n
I have left one reusable cup at an old workplace and one on a train in France.<\/p>\n
Unless a thrifty former colleague or fellow passenger had the eco-conscience to bring it home and use it, I fear they too, may have ended up in the bin.<\/p>\n
As well as this, the most popular brands of reusable cups can be pricey, which can alienate people who have less disposable income.<\/p>\n
This leads to those on a lower-income buying flimsy, cheaper models for under a tenner which ends up in the landfill far quicker than the more expensive cups are designed to.<\/p>\n
And, as the market for reusable products continues to expand, manufacturers continue to upgrade the humble reusable cup.<\/p>\n
With new designs and features emerging are people going to keep buying more modern models of reusable cups, thus, defeating the purpose altogether?<\/p>\n
As we become more conscious of the waste we are creating, we also need to be mindful of the effectiveness of the solutions we are being sold.<\/p>\n
Although using a reusable cup may be a drop of soya-milk in the coffee in terms of reducing waste, at least it is something.<\/p>\n