Currently, there is a wide range of reusable plastic cups that are sold under a sustainable philosophy for the sole reason that they can be used on more than one occasion. But are they really reusable cups?
And on the other hand, how many times should we reuse a plastic cup to make them really more environmentally friendly than conventional single-use plastic cups? At Ecogots we are concerned about the concept of the reusable plastic cup, so let's look at these questions in a little more detail.
The manufacture of a reusable plastic cup requires a greater amount of plastic, as well as emitting a greater amount of greenhouse gases or requiring more fresh water in its production than single-use cups.
In other words, they have a higher carbon footprint and water footprint, both in the raw material extraction phase and in waste management. Therefore, the important thing to note is that, although we may not be aware of it, due to the amount of plastic used in the production process, a reusable plastic cup causes more impact than a single-use one.
That is why the figure that most interests us to determine whether a reusable plastic cup is more or less sustainable, is the number of times it is used according to the impact produced by its manufacture.
According to several studies, it has been concluded that a reusable plastic cup must be used seven times to be less harmful to the environment than a single-use cup.
However, reusable plastic cups are by no means the most sustainable or environmentally friendly cups on the market. The ones that do meet all the requirements to combat serious environmental problems such as climate change are the cups manufactured by Ecogots.
These types of cups, in addition to being reusable up to two hundred times in a maximum of two years, are completely biodegradable and are made with natural components of proximity. Undoubtedly, the best alternative to reusable plastic cups.
