We have all heard it before. The little things we should be changing about our day-to-day routines to be more eco-friendly: short showers instead of baths, making sure off switch the lights when we don’t need them, cycling to work instead of taking public transport or the car… The list goes on and on. To any Vegan who has done their research into the immpact Veganism has on the environment, we know that the best thing anyone can do for planet

Earth is to reduce or completely eliminate their dairy and meat consumption. It is estimated that harmful emissions from animal agriculture alone are predicted to increase by around 70% between now and 2050 (PETA, 2015). So it is clear that choosing a plant-based lifestyle is highly beneficial for environment sustainability. However just because you are Vegan it does not mean that you have to stop all other environmental consideration. You can still do so much more to keep our planet flourishing.

Each week until mid-October I will be sharing a new small change everyone can make to daily life or attitudes to give Earth a bit of TLC starting with this article.

Keep-cups/ reusable coffee cups

I have been lazy and cheap in regards to purchasing my own reusable coffee cups. Finally i have joined the revolution and got myself a collapsible keepcup. But this is only the first step. In order to make a dent in the process of saving the environment from progressive degradation you need to use the reusable cup at least 15 times instead of a disposable one. This is because it requires more energy to make a keep-cup than a disposable one. There is enough plastic in 20 disposable cups to make one reusable one (Reuse HQ). Therefore you can’t sit back after buying a snazzy new reusable coffee cup having used it only once since you’ve owned it thinking you are saving the planet. Make sure you use it often. This why i bought a collapsible cup so that it easily fits inside my bag wherever i go just in case i have an opportunity to use it. I am an avid coffee drinker and Cafe Nero is my second home so i know there will be many spontaneous coffee stops for me week-to-week.

So if we do use our reusable coffee cups regularly, what are the environmental impacts and advantages?

Great question! There are many. For instance:

• Discounts on hot drinks (including at ARU)

• Reducing landfills by at least 99% compared to disposable cups.

• Reduces global carbon emissions by 36-47% in comparison to disposable cups.

• Reduces the production of polyethylene used in disposable cups which is not recyclable.

• There are loads of cool, colourful and creative designs to choose from.

(Information from Reuse HQ)

So start today. Don’t put it off. This one purchase, this one decision goes a long way.

References:

http://junkee.com/keepcup-really-making-difference/142515

https://reusehq.keepcup.com/