I went for coffee with a friend the other morning. Like reading a box of cereal while eating it, we had to read the outside of our paper cups while drinking from them. A graphic of the globe circled most of the cup, white on a soft green, and the text on the remainder said:
It Makes a World of Difference
In one year, Eco Products customers make a difference by saving:
742,414 gallons of gasoline – enough to drive around the earth 673 times
13,478,914 pounds of greenhouse gases
8,629,476 kW hours of energy – enough to power the average American household for 810 years
ingeo™
Plastic Lining Made From Plants Not Oil
Off to the side of that, it said:
Compostable
…and…
Eco Products, Boulder, Colorado
Impressed and intrigued, I came home and googled Eco Products. I was interested in this plant-derived lining, and I wanted to compost my cup.
What is PLA?
PLA stands for polylactic acid, or Polylactide, a versatile polymer produced by NatureWorks LLC. PLA is made from lactic acid. Lactic acid is made from dextrose by fermentation. Dextrose is made from starch and starch is made from carbon dioxide and water. Ingeo™ biopolymer is the world’s first and only performance plastic made from 100% annually renewable resources. It offers the cost and performance necessary to compete with traditional petroleum-based materials in the packaging and serviceware markets. Clear and strong like petroleum-based plastic, but with the crucial benefit of being commercially compostable.
That’s the lining of the cup. The exterior is 24% post-consumer recycled paper. Not a really high number, but better than 0%!
I saved my cup to write this blog post. Now I am going to toss it on the compost pile and watch it contribute to rich dark soil for the garden. I will keep you posted on this new experiment!
Aside from bringing my own reusable stainless steel coffee cup, this is the most eco-friendly cuppa I’ve seen. I cringe when I order coffee and get handed a styrofoam cup! Look for Eco Products cups in coffee houses you frequent. If they don’t carry them, ask them to. Eco Products carries a full line of plates, bowls and cutlery, as well as biodegradable trash bags, so ask your favorite take-out places to use them as well.
Everything we can compost, reuse or recycle reduces new manufacturing and emissions. I can’t emphasize enough the need to cut back on new plastic and paper products and buy recycled. The lining of this Eco Products cup and the plant-derived materials in all their products are a huge step in the right direction. I hope they get noticed and set a precedent for all food serviceware. Please support them. Read about The Million Gallon Challenge.
