Reducing Solid Waste due to Single-Use Cups
Presented to Guy Ettinger by Linnae Bain
July 20, 2014
Date: July 20, 2014
To: Guy Ettinger, Owner, Inman Perk Coffee
From: Linnae Bain, Consultant
Subjects: Reducing Solid Waste due to Single-Use Cups
Every year approximately 60 billion tons of CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere from
the production of disposable cups in the U.S. One of the largest consumers of these
disposable cups is a coffee shop. Not only does the use of disposable cups result in
negative impacts to the environment but also adds to the cost that our coffee shop
has to pay every year to stay in operation. There are, however, numerous
alternatives to this issue that are both cost effective and beneficial to environment.
Significance of Problem:
– North America alone cuts down 50 million trees per year strictly for paper cup
production (Anderson, 2008).
– Manufacturing facilities that produce paper cups significantly pollute water sources
(Anderson, 2008).
– A paper cup takes more than 20 years to decompose in a landfill environment
(Anderson,2008).
One of the biggest obstacles we face is communicating to people the importance of
