Green Peaks Challenge #4

disposable dishes

Hello everyone!

From January 1, 2020, the EGAlim law will ban disposable plastic tableware (cups, glasses and plates). Only disposable crockery that can be composted in domestic composting and made up wholly or partly of biosourced materials can be sold or distributed free of charge, for take-out or consumption on site.

We therefore suggest that you prepare now by avoiding the use of disposable plastic dishes as much as possible. But we go even further, encouraging you not to use disposable alternatives in other materials but to favor reusability.

Disposable plastic cups in a few figures:

  • In France, every year we throw away nearly of 5 billion plastic cups
  • Stacked and stacked, these disposable cups would form a pyramid as high as 25 Eiffel towers, wide 6,8 kilometers
  • The best, 1% of them are recycled
  • 1,6 billion cups are incinerated per year (i.e. 34%)
  • 2,4 billion is buried in landfills (over 50%)
  • Nearly 15% of the remaining cups are abandoned in nature.
  • 500 years ago, : This is the time it takes for a plastic cup to degrade completely. That's half a century longer than a plastic bag and 100 times longer than a cigarette butt...

Some received ideas:

The cardboard cup : Paper cups have a reputation for being more eco-friendly than disposable cups. However, according to a study conducted by the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), their manufacture, from wood, requires 13 times more water and twice as much electricity. Worse still, the thin layer of plastic covering its lower part makes it almost impossible to recycle and very complex to compost the paper cup.

The ceramic or sandstone mug or cup : The same TNO study points out that their characteristics are no better than plastic cups: "20% higher depletion of rare resources than polystyrene cups, four times higher toxicity for human, aquatic and terrestrial environments and a 30% more harmful impact on biodiversity".

But then ? What are the best alternatives?

The biodegradable cup: Made from 100% biodegradable materials, this type of cup, although more expensive, is an alternative to disposable plastic cups. However, their environmental impact should not be underestimated. Making biodegradable cups uses 304 times more water than disposable cups and 18 times more than reusable cups. In addition, you must have access to a composter (individual or collective).

The reusable plastic cup: It is estimated that approximately 70% of reusable cups are returned and therefore recycled at the end of their life. Even if it requires 16 times more water than the disposable cup, it is also less harmful in terms of aquatic ecotoxicity.

Glass, which can be recycled to infinity! Unlike plastic, it does not spread particles in the water. Particles which would then end up in the oceans in microparticles and contaminate the entire food chain.

The stainless steel (inox) water bottle: Almost infinitely reusable, solid and easy to clean, it is even becoming a trendy item with certain brands that offer ranges of decorated water bottles. In addition, it can keep liquids hot or cold for several hours 😉
Good challenge to all!

The GreenPeaks team

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