Remember I posted awhile ago about how, if we got new Curious mugs instead of bringing our own from home or getting used ones, we’d have to use them a bunch of times to make up for the energy used to create and maintain them? If not, that’s totally fine - this article gives some details about why that’s the case. One thing that should be mentioned, though, is that while “polystyrene cups can be more easily recycled,” they pretty much never are recycled. And there are serious health concerns with the manufacture and use of polystyrene.
Green worker
Are ceramic cups really more ethical than disposables?
* Adharanand Finn
* guardian.co.uk
* The Guardian, Monday March 3 2008
For the conscientious green worker just trying to do his or her bit, the workplace is a labyrinth of complex ethical dilemmas. Do you dry your hands with the paper towels or the dryer? Snack on organic or Fairtrade chocolate? But at least some things are clear cut - I mean, cycling to work must beat driving. And surely printing on both sides of the paper has to be good.
Drinking your tea out of a reusable I’m Not A Plastic Cup mug, instead of one of the 6bn disposable polystyrene cups that get binned in the UK each year, has got to be another sure-fire winner, right? Buying a whole set for the office and ditching polystyrene cups altogether, even better.
But just when you think you’ve got at least one thing nailed, something pops up to cloud the issue. A number of studies, including one commissioned by the Dutch government, raise the possibility that in terms of energy, a ceramic mug would have to be used hundreds of times before it becomes a more energy efficient option than drinking from polystyrene cups. And if you use each polystyrene cup twice, or even three times, you are looking at a lot of mug usages before you start saving energy.
The findings of a study by the University of Victoria in Canada are even more severe, suggesting that a ceramic mug would need to be used more than 1,000 times to out-do the humble polystyrene cup.
It may not sound very plausible - but on closer inspection the arguments seem to add up. Firstly, ceramic cups use more energy in their production. Second, there is all the hot water and washing-up liquid used when you wash up your mug. Third there’s the environmental consequences of distributing ceramic mugs - because they are bigger and heavier than polystyrene cups, which can be tightly stacked, you are looking at more ship and lorry journeys, using more fuel. And, finally, polystyrene cups can be more easily recycled.
If that weren’t enough, the issue starts to cloud even further when you start comparing glasses with plastic cups for water, or anything against paper cups. For the green worker, the only certain outcome is a spinning head and pangs of guilt every time you pour yourself a cup of Fairtrade coffee.
So, what to do? The simple solution is to endeavour to use your mug more than 1,000 times, which even the studies most heavily backed by the disposable cup industry will be unable to deny is more eco-friendly (and for keen tea-drinkers, not too much of a challenge).
But be warned. It might be more difficult than you think to reach your target; the average ceramic mug in the workplace is apparently only used 50 times. It’s up to you to maintain a steady hand, never drop your cup and make sure, in 10 years’ time, that that Global Warming (Help I’m Melting!) mug is still sitting pretty on your desk, having clocked up thousands of tea rounds.
· Adharanand Finn is the author of Make a Difference at Work (rrp £8.99). To order a copy for £8.99 with free UK p&p go to the bookshop or call 0870 836 0875
Ideas for Curious | admin | 
March 10, 2009 1:26 am | 
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