Sadly, NAEE missed the fact that yesterday was the International Day of Action on Throwaway Cups.  We can only apologise and hope that you didn’t throw too many away as a result.

Here’s a link to the International Paper Network website.  Mandy Haggith, co-ordinator of the Network says,

‘Throwaway cups, whether made of paper, Styrofoam or plastic, are an icon of wasteful resource use, and of the unthinking acceptance of ever increasing volumes of disposable commodities. It is unacceptable that we drink from single-use vessels instead of beautiful pottery, tough plastic or elegant steel. The Cupifesto is a call to fast food and drinks companies and politicians to ensure everyone has the option of drinking tea and coffee from reusable vessels. Our message is simple – no throwaway cups.”

The Network also says that at least 58 billion throwaway cups are used each year globally, using more than a million tonnes of paper.  Their production requires 32 million trees, 100 billion litres of water (that’s 43 thousand Olympic swimming pools) and emits as much greenhouse gases as half a million cars.  It seems that hardly any throwaway cups are recycled.

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