Ecoffee Cup

CONTROVERSIAL DEP ED TIME. We don’t really talk about climate change here at MaximumPC. It’s one hell of a polarizing topic. But what is hard to ignore is how much waste we produce as a species. In particular, the trash that ends up in the oceans. Great for survivalists stranded on a desert island; less great for the things living in the sea.

One of the things close to my heart, however, is coffee. I pick up a cup of the good stuff every day on my way to work, drink my beany beverage, and chuck the not-so-biodegradable cup in the trash.

It’s a pretty shitty statistic, but an estimated 500 billion coffee cups are thrown away each year worldwide, with more than 99 percent of them nonrecyclable. To combat this, I decided to try out a more permanent alternative to my coffee conundrum: an Ecoffee Cup. Designed in the UK, and shipped to the US by the power of Amazon, Ecoffee Cups are predominantly manufactured from recycled bamboo husk. BPA and phthalate-free, they come with a foodsafe silicone lid and sleeve, and are even dishwasher safe (although you should dodge the microwave).

All in all, it’s a nice cup. There’s no plastic aftertaste, and the only downside is the slight smell of silicone emanating from the lid, which I assume will dissipate over time. It’s not exactly cheap, coming in at $16.31, but that said, I do now get a discount with my local coffee shop, and the satisfaction of knowing that I’ve cut down on the amount of excess waste I produce, too. $16.31, www.ecoffeecup.eco