My ultra cool reusable cup

We’ve all read or heard of these studies that say that when you account for the much higher energy of manufacture and of washing a reusable cup, you might as well as use a disposable cup. You would have to use a hell of a lot of disposable cups, such studies say, before you equal the energy use of the reusable cup.

Conclusion? Do nothing. Go back to sleep. Fill up the corner trash can with as many plastic cups as you can muster.

What the studies don’t say is that if a restaurant or café already has a ceramic cup, then the ecological cost of sitting down to drink from the reusable cup is zero. Once the cup is already sitting there, collecting dust, there is no energy of manufacture. It costs nothing—or almost nothing—to use the already extant reusable cup, while 15 minutes later the disposable gets trashed, taking up landfill space and needing to be replaced.

Meanwhile, using the ultra-cool reusable cup—a pre-used jar with a handy lid—actually has a positive (rather than only neutral) environmental impact. By taking a jar out of the trash or recycling stream, it doesn’t need to be shipped or processed. By using cold water to rinse it (and only when really needed), it saves the energy of washing.

By the way, if you like the ultra cool cup, you may also like the green hipster PDA and perhaps even be willing to take the extra step to become a weirdo with a cloth.

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Comments

[patti]

I was the weirdo with the re-usable water bottle on my recent teacher trip to Manhattan. I refilled it at water fountains of various museums. I got *looks* from my colleagues who would walk right by the fountain to the cooler that held little water bottles for purchase. Then they would casually throw their empty bottles into the trash, even though, back home in our county, recycling water bottles is MANDATORY! One of our docents had a glass bottle that he refilled like me. He said he won't even use plastic.

[Lindsey @ enjoythejourney]

We've been doing this "down south" for quite some time, and you know, I never even thought about it being "green."

Mama always reused jelly jars for our little glasses as children. You can't buy jelly in a jar anymore because everything under the sun seems to be plastic now!

[Lissa]

I love the reusable cup; whether or not I have mine with me is frequently the determining factor in whether or not I buy a cup of tea when I'm traveling. I've been thinking about a cup for cool drinks (and considering purchase of a stainless steel flash from lifewithoutplastic.com), but I hadn't been totally sold on the idea. It hadn't occurred to me to use a jar as a traveling cup -- which is silly, as my mother had the small jelly and jam jars reserved as water glasses for my sister and I when we were small. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks, also, for sharing your journey with us; I've started my own trek toward making less of an impact, and am thrilled to have found a community of like-minded others to remind me that I'm not crazy!

[Margot]

I do want to point out that, while you're right, once the cup exists, it does not cost more energy etc for it to continue to exist, washing is a non-zero impact activity. Particularly the way resterants are required to wash, with either disinfecting chemicals or very hot water or both. Of course, if it's your own cup, you have much better control of the energy of washing up.
I'll bring my own coffee cup along on business trips, another excellent source of funny looks (in case you are seeking one).

[Scott]

Funny...I was just mentioning to my wife the other day how ridiculous it is to use a product in a glass jar which is then recycled rather than reused. It is still a perfectly good jar but when we recycle instead of reuse it is crushed, melted down and then refashioned into a brand new jar. What a waste of resources.

I grew up in the era when pop bottles (soda for some of you) were reused until the glass on the outside took on a milky color and had little pits. We would have contests among us to check the date on the bottom to see who had the oldest bottle. Some were in circulation for years and had huge gouges in the bottoms. But they were still usable.

Back then the nickel deposit was actually worth something. As kids, we made a haul collecting them from the sides of the road since candy bars were a nickel then too. A nickel now is a worthless deposit and not much of an incentive. A quarter would be better.

How nice it would be if there were a store that had reusable jars for the products you buy. You essentially buy the jar once and then just keep trading it for another. This process of remelting and reforming is ridiculous really.

[Leyre]

Scott, I agree! I wish there were stores that sold you things in glass jars and just allowed you to refill them (shampoo, conditioner, face wash, moisturizer, etc)! Why would that be so hard to do?

[Amy]

At the college I went to (Guilford College in NC) it was actually something of a fad to drink out of used mason jars. I loved the 1 pint ones and developed quite a collection of salvaged pasta sauce jars. Once I graduated from college my parents encouraged me to buy a set of pretty glassware, but I stubbornly refused.

This year I decided to eat as locally as possible, which meant that canning has become a big priority. The jar collection has come in handy again. Not only can you look like a silly hippie and drink from them, but you can also put preserves in them. Because I already had a large mason jar collection the only thing I needed to purchase were the lids.

[Amy]

At the college I went to (Guilford College in NC) it was actually something of a fad to drink out of used mason jars. I loved the 1 pint ones and developed quite a collection of salvaged pasta sauce jars. Once I graduated from college my parents encouraged me to buy a set of pretty glassware, but I stubbornly refused.

This year I decided to eat as locally as possible, which meant that canning has become a big priority. The jar collection has come in handy again. Not only can you look like a silly hippie and drink from them, but you can also put preserves in them. Because I already had a large mason jar collection the only thing I needed to purchase were the lids.

[Amy]

At the college I went to (Guilford College in NC) it was actually something of a fad to drink out of used mason jars. I loved the 1 pint ones and developed quite a collection of salvaged pasta sauce jars. Once I graduated from college my parents encouraged me to buy a set of pretty glassware, but I stubbornly refused.

This year I decided to eat as locally as possible, which meant that canning has become a big priority. The jar collection has come in handy again. Not only can you look like a silly hippie and drink from them, but you can also put preserves in them. Because I already had a large mason jar collection the only thing I needed to purchase were the lids.

[Amy]

At the college I went to (Guilford College in NC) it was actually something of a fad to drink out of used mason jars. I loved the 1 pint ones and developed quite a collection of salvaged pasta sauce jars. Once I graduated from college my parents encouraged me to buy a set of pretty glassware, but I stubbornly refused.

This year I decided to eat as locally as possible, which meant that canning has become a big priority. The jar collection has come in handy again. Not only can you look like a silly hippie and drink from them, but you can also put preserves in them. Because I already had a large mason jar collection the only thing I needed to purchase were the lids.

[Valerie]

I am also a big fan of the reusable water vessel. My sister bought me one on a recent trip to death valley (not surprising, really, that they had water-centric souvenirs!). I take it with me everywhere - often asking accommodating wait staff to refill it for me if there is no water fountain available (no one has ever refused my request) or using the water spigot on the large banks of soda dispensing machines (no one has stopped me yet!).

Colin, thanks for your continuous supply of thought-provoking posts and your efforts to raise awareness of our impact on the planet.

[Kelli]

Our local whole foods store does re-use glass jars for some products, like honey, peanut butter, tahini, etc. People bring in all sizes of clean jars, the store marks the weight of the empty jar to be subtracted at the checkout, and use what you need.

[Julie]

I'm going to put your blog URL on my new blog Low Impact Lifestyle:
http://lowimpactlifestyle.blogspot.com

Love your stuff, can't wait til the book comes out!

[Vashti]

Love those studies. The one I usually hear about is the one that states that "cloth nappies are no better than disposable nappies".

Want to guess who sponsored those studies? Go on, you'll never guess.

It was Procter and Gamble, the makers of Pampers. Check it out.

[Vj]

I started reading this blog a week ago and I have changed few things in the last week to reduce the resources that I use.I happened to read the "Good Turn" blog in the blog roll over here. The author of the blog has written about saving water while taking shower, which made me think how people take shower in India. In India, we use taps to fill a bucket of water, use a jug to bend down and take the water from the bucket to take bath. This might seem very old fashioned, but I realized it achieves two things, you have fixed amount of water to take bath and it makes you bend for every jug of water you use. I should consider taking shower the Indian way.

[Mimi]

I keep several clean glass jars from food I have bought in the past to use for storing leftovers in the fridge. They also make good pantry storage for things like trail mix, rice, corn meal, etc.

After reading several such articles on the dangers of plastic, I found out that Anchor Hocking makes reproduction glass storage containers from the 1930's (the original form of tupperware) with glass lids. Although a new purchase (not reuse), they will last for years and are perfect storage for large amounts of leftovers with no worries about chemicals leaching into your food.

I am in California and Strauss Dairy sells milk and half and half in reusable glass milk bottles. We pay $1 - $1.50 deposit depending on the size of the container which is refunded when we return the container to the store.

Look around. Once you become more aware of the issues you start to see things you didn't notice before. If more of us begin to reuse our packaging and demand that the options are available changes will occur.

Colin, thank you for the wonderful blog and the great community that your are encouraging to form here.

-Mimi

[geminimama]

Have you looked into one of these: http://www.sunoven.com/ ? There are also a million plans online for building a solar cooker with a box, styrofoam and tinfoil (all recycled of course). I haven't used one much, other than to demonstrate making cookies on overcast days for school groups, but I have a fried who uses his like a crock pot--puts dinner in in the morning and it's done by suppertime. Also he bakes bread and even cans tomatoes. You probaby can't make your morning cup of tea with it, but no doubt could cut back on propane use significantly. Maybe someone could let you, er, borrow one to avoid the purchasing something new issue.

[Kathy]

Jars and pop bottles also make excellent vases for your back yard flowers.

[Kirk]

Along the same line of thinking, I have old Nalgene bottles from 20yrs ago which still get daily use. I find they work better when banging around in my car and out in the field. With a strap and carbiner they go everywhere i wish to tramp.

[Uma]

I have been using only pre-used glass jars for everything in the kitchen for more than 25 years. I give away new extra jars to people who work for me and who are in real need. If the jar is cracked, I use it to grow plants…..the cracks in the glass allow excess water to drain into a tray. As for having a bath I totally agree with Vj—have used only a bucket and a mug all my life! In India we have always had the practice of the poor coming to your doorstep to buy used glass bottles and jars to sell for recycling.

[SKG]

The only problem with a glass to-go cup is that glass is A. heavy and B. breakable. I want stainless, which is A. lightweight and B. not breakable. I've got a cup, but I need food storage for taking my lunch to work. My friend has these amazing Korean stainless refrigerator storage containers with locking lids with silicone seals. The lids have these little hinge things like on an old suitcase that really lock on the lid, so you can take your lunch pole vaulting with perfect peace of mind. I have been coveting these things for years and I have to constantly remind myself that stealing is wrong. I can't find them and so am reduced to re-using plastic tubs from the bulk foods aisle. That is working fine, but it creeps me out to put hot, oily food in plastic, especially plastic that was designed to hold, for instance, room-temperature dried figs.

Does anybody know what I'm talking about with these Korean items? I have been to Korean stores galore and done about ninetytwothousand web searches and can only find plastic plastic plastic. I think they quit making them in steel because plastic was cheaper. The free market! Making our lives better by increasing efficiency in faraway factories so that our food storage containers can be .011 cents cheaper and 60 times more colorful and space-agey! All for the low low cost of a few petrochemicals in our food and hermaphroditic offspring.

[Lorena]

Just wanted to let you know I appreciate you sharing your experience/experiment with the rest of us. Even if we don't take it all the way like you are doing, at least you will have inspired some of us to do more than we are! Thank you, No Impact Man!

[vj]

SKG,
You should try some big Indian Stores which sell stainless steel utensils. We do get these kind of stainless steel lunch boxes in India.I just saw something on ebay which is shipping from India(Just type the following in google "Stainless steel lunch box + India" and click on the ebay link.) You might be able to get something similar over here in the indian store.

[Judith]

SKG,
I recently purchased a water bottle from Mountain Equioment Co-op (Canadain chain) that seems similar to the containers you are looking for. It is smaller than what I really wanted, but was the closest thing I could find that wasn't plastic. It is made by "Thermos", is stainless steel with a flip top lid that has a lock on lid like you describe. The lid has a plastic liner/seal and I only use it for cold drinks (as I think that was the recommendation). I don't think it was in their catalogue but I found it in the Calgary store. So we can hope that industry is catching on, and starting to answer consumer demands.
And here is a tip for everyone. Also a lesson on how you don't know how something will work until you give it a try. We recently started up our compost pile again. I was dismayed to see how many coffee filters we used. We use the unbleached ones meant for a large pot, but fold them to fit a small basket as we usually just make one or two cups at a time. Yesterday we started dumping out the spent grounds and rinsing off the filter. Lay it across a small bowl for it to dry. Thus far the one same filter has been used for 8 single cups of coffee, and it is showing no signs of deterioration! Who knew!
No need for plastic storage containers. Use your casserole dishes with a lid, flip a plate over a bowl, or a bowl over a plate. If your cooking pots are stainless steel, leave leftovers in the pot, or downsize to a smaller pot. Ask your friendly local potter if they have any spare lids, or buy spare lids at the second hand store. cheers, J

[SKG]

vj, yay! That's not it, but it's just as good. The ones I've seen in Asian stores all have like 6 levels, which is too much tiffin for me, but on e-bay they have two-level ones that would be perfect, *and* some of them are used. I just needed that word, "tiffin" to open the door to a magical world of lunch tote options...

Re-using coffee filters is so brilliant. I am going to try it tomorrow.

Thanks, vj, thanks, Judith, and thanks to the baking soda shampoo people of last month. This blog is fast becoming my favorite spot on the whole entire internet.