Comments on: GreenWare Cups

By: Ellie

Ellie — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 06:16:11 +0000

Is green ware available for hot beverages? I would love to see some of the major coffee chains take on something rather than styrofoam cups.

By: D&A Show Greens Up | EcoSalon - The Green Gathering

D&A Show Greens Up | EcoSalon - The Green Gathering — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:00:50 +0000

[...] so many eco-products available, from the ecotainer coffee cups I drank from in the morning, to the greenware corn cups for orange juice and the cornstarch flatware with which I was so hungrily eating I nearly [...]

By: MBA Used Student Loan to Develop FDA Approved 100% Natural and Sustainable Tableware : Feelgood Style

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:29:09 +0000

[...] GreenWare Cups Tags: bamboo fibers, bio-based polymers, biodegradable soy inks, cradle-to-cradle, durable dinnerware, Eco Collection, eco footprint, EcoLogic, ecosystem, Sustainable MBA, sustainable packaging initiative, sustainable tableware, tableware [...]

By: Jennifer Kaplan

Jennifer Kaplan — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:02:53 +0000

FYI, I just found a national searchable database for composting facilities:

http://www.findacomposter.com/

By: Paul Smith

Paul Smith — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:28:16 +0000

It’s encouraging to see such interest in compostable cups. I recently had the pleasure of trying out some plates by Verterra that would go well – they are made entirely out of leaves, plus the steam to shape them. That’s it. But they’re not wimpy. I’ve washed my first ones 10 times, used a knife to cut sausage on them, no problem. And they don’t use any binder to give them form, so nothing leeches into your hot foods as you eat them. An awesome find. I wrote a piece about them, and their energy efficient factory here http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/compostableware-that-leaves-th-003252.php

By: John Simonetta

John Simonetta — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:16:50 +0000

Jason,

From the factory “Greenware cups will begin to break down at 150 degrees F and 90% humidity (ideal composting conditions). In approximately 50 days within these conditions, the cups will be completely gone.

Also, please be aware that due to the nature of molding compostable PLA resin (corn based) Greenware cups may exhibit minor imperfections such as tiny raised surfaces or grainy appearance. PLA (Poly Lactic Acid which is a resin derived entirely from natural corn materials) also begins to break down at 105 degrees and therefore should NOT BE EXPOSED to temperatures higher than 105 degrees. Some shrinking or warping of product may occur if exposed to these temperatures.

In terms of what nutrients this product provides to the soil, no ground water contamination because the cups breaks down into natural lactic acid and metabolites but (to our knowledge) no major nutrients are offered to the soil.”

By: Jean Nick

Jean Nick — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:36:38 +0000

When they say compostable what is required? Many such items will not break down in a home compost pile but only in a carefully managed large-scale composting facility. For a festival where the items are being recaptured on-site and then sent to such a facility bioplastics may make sense, but for take-away food they do not make sense as few areas have municiple composting so the bioplastic items end up in the landfill wastestream where they will not get a chance to break down. Traditional plastic items of a plastic that is commonly recyclable in the local area are a far greener choice where recapture is unlikely.

By: Jason Paul Kazarian

Jason Paul Kazarian — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:29:00 +0000

How long does it take for the cups to decompose? When the cups do decompose, do they provide nutrients to the soil?

By: John Simonetta

John Simonetta — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:18:16 +0000

Jennifer thank you for a response to our first post. We have had this question before. Yes composting is best, but the GreenWare cup is really designed to help the landfill issue. The reason I say that is because an average run for these items is 10,000 units and the assumption is they are going into the trash cycle at the end of their usefulness.

I like the idea of finding resources for locating composts across the country for the cups. Let me pass your note along to the manufacture and see what they suggest. If I get a response I’ll post it.

By: Jennifer Kaplan

Jennifer Kaplan — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:53:12 +0000

Thanks for the informative post! I recently worked with a group who used 500 of these type cups instead of 100 plastic water bottles. We ran into a problem, however, because it was a significant challenge to find a compost to take the cups. The facility (a school) actually had a small compost on site but it was not large enough to accommodate the cups. We were unable to find an compost and I’m not certain, but pretty sure, that the cups ended up in a landfill. I’m glad to read in your post that even in a landfill these cups are better than conventional ones, but isn’t their real value in finding composts for them? Are there any resources for locating composts across the country? I’d love to see the value of these cups be realized.