Here’s Why You Should Avoid Recycling Your Disposable Coffee Cups

How many times have you found yourself standing in front of the bin with your disposable coffee cup wondering whether to pop it in recycling or in with the regular rubbish? Well, you’re not alone. 

It’s not the worst thing in the world if you forget to bring your own reusable coffee cup to your favourite café, but it is on us to know where to properly dispose of our single use cups.

Most disposable coffee cups are made up of two layers – paper on the outside and plastic on the inside. This naturally makes the cup more difficult to break down and recycle. 

For this reason, most cafes these days have switched to ‘biocups’ which in theory, should be easier to break down and are made up of bio-components such as sugar cane, corn or cassava. 

But while the production of these cups produces 80 percent less carbon emissions than regular cups, they still do not come with instructions as to where we should dispose of the cups. 

Cosmos journalist Jacinta Bowler breaks down the science behind the production of coffee cups, whether bio-cups are better for the planet and the million-dollar question – where should we be discarding our disposable cups?