Generally speaking, I would always discourage single use coffee cups and highly recommend investing in a good quality reusable coffee cup. However, when you have forgotten to bring your reusable coffee cup with you or simply can't and you need to reach out for that take away cup. Always make sure you do not drink your coffee with the plastic lid on, unless it is fully compostable.
Did you know that plastic lids have been shown to leach BPA into your coffee.
Unfortunately, research also suggests that most paper cups aren't any better than the plastic lids - as the lining of most paper cups is made of a plastic called Polyethylene (low density Polyethylene) which also contains BPA as well as micro plastics. This all means that more plastic is leaching into your favourite hot drink!
So, my top tips when having a coffee on the go are:
- Always try to keep your reusable coffee cup ready to go and in a place you will remember it when leaving the house.
- If you don't have your own cup with you, always look for a fully compostable cup when picking up a take-away coffee. If a cup is labelled compostable regulation dictates that it cannot contain any polyethylene.
- Never drink from a plastic lid unless it clearly states "compostable". Compostable and "recyclable" are two very different things and recyclable products can still have microplastics.