Paper Cups
Every year an average of 2 billion pieces of paper cups produced in Turkey. These cups are widely used in homes, schools, and offices. The use of paper cups especially in my university (Abdullah Gül University) is very high. A student use approximately 2 paper cups per a day and there are more than 1200 students in AGU. This is very huge number. So, why the usage of paper cups so widely? Because the use of paper cups is considered more environmentally friendly. Actually, the real situation is a little different.
Research shows that plastic cups are more environmentally friendly than paper cups. While the amount of energy required to produce and use for 75 plastic cups is 20 MUe , this rate is 30 MUe for 75 paper cups,, which means 50 % more waste of resources than carbon cups. Additionally, as a result of the use of 1,000 paper cups, 550 kilograms of carbon gas are released, while this figure is only 215 kilograms for 1 thousand plastic cups.
To sum up, finding a solution to the use of paper cups will contribute to reducing the carbon footprint.
In the next blog. I will provide information about the solution to this issue.
See you.
How to recycle and upcycle 