April 8, 2009–Today’s Way: If you stop every morning to pick up a cup of coffee or soft drink, there’s a high probability that the disposable cup and polystyrene cap they come in will persist far longer in the world than you.  A moment on the lips, forever in a landfill.  Even if the cups aren’t made of some type of plastic or polystyrene (styrofoam), paper cannot degrade in the enclosed, airless compression beneath a mountain of trash that makes up a landfill.   Moreover, even if you’re a dilligent recycler, the amount of energy and resources required to first make the disposable cups and caps and then to recycle them still has a high environmental cost.  It doesn’t take much more money or time to invest in a refillable, insulated cup that usually has the bonus feature of a non-spill cap, and nearly every coffee house, fast food joint and corner gas station or quickie mart will be happy to fill that cup for you— some of them have even begun offering free drinks for those who bring their own cup.  The benefits far outweigh the effort required to wash out the cup for reuse at the end of the day; such as keeping your drinks hot or cold longer, less chance of accidentally spilling on you or your nice car interior, better fashion with all the cool styles of reusable mugs available today and of course, it can mean 365 fewer disposable cups thrown away each year.

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