Takeaway Coffee Shops

Question: Write about the "Takeaway Coffee Shops". Answer: Takeaway Coffee Cups Many people turn up for a daily cup of coffee at their favourite spots but what they do not take concern of are the take away cups that they dispose away in millions of numbers. Most of these cups are made of plastic and when they are carelessly disposed away, they pose a serious environmental challenge (Tan, 2015). The disaster that we are posing for is much dangerous than we think as the World Economic Forum of late stated that the number of plastics is going to outweigh the number of fish in the oceans with current rate of plastic disposal. Most people have not learned of the fact that the plastic cup they dispose is more likely to live longer than them. The coffee cups appear like they have been made out of paper but in real sense they have a plastic lining and when they are disposed, they are likely to end in landfills (Devitt, 2016). The paper part biodegrades into inert gas while the plastic part is not biodegradable and therefore stays there like a pollutant. These cups have become a key source of pollution due to the high numbers with which they are released into the environment. The worrying thing is that many consumers hold to the misconception that paper cups form part of the green choice. Coffee companies are not glad to challenge this notion as they understand the concept differently even though they do not reveal to the consumers. Nevertheless, the coffee companies keep insisting to the consumers that disposing the coffee cups in a litter bin does not help with conserving the environment (Devitt, 2016). It is worth noting that the coffee cups form the second largest form of pollution in regard to small materials. The fact that the cups that are mostly used by the companies are not easy to recycle makes the matters complicated. Thousands of people in Australia take coffee and therefore it is the mandate of each citizen to join the fight against these cups. What makes the coffee cups a nuisance is that they are not made out of recycled material as they are designed in a manner that the coffee comes into contact with a thin card made of seam which is found inside the coffee cup (Tan, 2015). This factor makes the cups to be made of original paper pulp. Estimations reveal that one billion coffee cups are released into the environment by Australians every year. Furthermore, statistics reveal that coffee cups come second to plastic bottles as the largest contributors of litter. Scholars reveal that nearly ninety percent of the disposable cups which is approximately sixty thousand kilograms plastic wastes settle in landfills every year (Xing et al., 2016). Furthermore, plastics form the largest world pollution menace in oceans and what worries more is that one coffee cup has the capability of turning into thousands of particles. These particles are very small yet dangerous as they get into the system of marine creatures (Tan, 2015). The fact that oceans are being turned into plastic soup is worrying as this is an indication of a looming disaster because oceans are the source of life in the world. Nevertheless, there is the option of recyclable plastic which are being made but they are really expensive and this may put away most caf owners (Xing et al., 2016). Presently, there are coffee cups which are sold with the claim that they are recyclable, compostable and biodegradable but the claims are not true. Bibliography Devitt, S.J., 2016. Programming quantum computers using 3-D puzzles, coffee cups, and doughnuts. XRDS: Crossroads, The ACM Magazine for Students, 23(1), pp.45-50. Tan, C.S.L., 2015, January. KeepCup: A young fast growth entrepreneurial company that disrupted the take away coffee cup industry. In United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Conference Proceedings (p. QQ1). United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Xing, A., Lai, E., Jin, J., Choi, M. and Qing, W., 2016. Effects of visual prompts on coffee cup and plastic bag disposal: research project final report.