Time to tax coffee cups
Posted on February 26, 2008
Filed Under Business |
Paper Cups Versus Styrofoam Cups: Surprise Winner | Green Thinking for the Average Joe
“A study by Canadian scientist Martin Hocking shows that making a paper cup uses as much petroleum or natural gas as a polystyrene cup. Plus, the paper cup uses wood pulp. The Canadian study said, ‘The paper cup consumes 12 times as much steam, 36 times as much electricity, and twice as much cooling water as the plastic cup.’ And because the paper cup uses more raw materials and energy, it also costs 2.5 times more than the plastic cup.”
The only excuse that the major chain coffee shoppes have about not using biodegradable cups is cost. They cost more, so it would take a bite in to the fat margins on coffee and tea. Since Toronto is now taxing for garbage why not extend this tax to every major chain coffee house. 
The effect of taxing non-degradable cups would push the cost of their use above the cost of using biodegradable cups that the city has to deal with. A stroll along any street in Toronto yields countless of Tim Horton’s, Starbucks, Second Cup, etc. cups. Now think of how many of these are just taking up space in the trucks that the city is sending to Michigan.
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