Incredibly Delicious Chocolate Candies
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8:23 am
The latest buzz is about saving the planet, and that’s definitely a good thing. Of course, some day we’ll look back and think, “And we really thought that was going to be enough?” but, right now, it’s mainly good that the concept of “going green” isn’t just for the vegetarians and hippies anymore. Due to this, many basic things that every business has always used are being given thought all over again. Even if a company is only interested in their bottom line, they may find that going green is far cheaper than ever. Let’s look at something that many companies rarely consider: disposable coffee cups.
Fast Food Restaurants Must Use Disposable Coffee Cups
Disposable coffee cups, for the most part, are purchased by only a few types of businesses: restaurants and, in some cases, offices. When it comes to a fast food restaurant, there’s not much of a choice. Since they can’t expect customers to return coffee cups, they have to give them the product in a container that is expected to be tossed. Unless someone develops a really innovative solution, fast food restaurants will have to continue to operate this way, creating a constant demand for the disposable coffee cup.
Sit-Down Restaurants Could Go Greener, But Is It Worth It To Them?
In sit down cafes, or other similar restaurants, disposable cups are usually a product of the bottom line. Unfortunately, the savings are probably false. Although each individual purchase is certainly less, paying for the same product over and over again when you don’t have to is very wasteful since they could buy re-usable cups instead. Of course, someone would have to clean those cups. Is it really worth paying someone to do that? Well, that would depend on a lot of factors, including how much disposable cups actually cost you, if you are currently using a machine with unused capacity, and how much you pay your dishwashers. No one, however, can say that you wouldn’t be cutting down on your waste production considerably.
Offices That Expect Visitors Use Disposable Coffee Cups
As a courtesy, many offices, such as lawyers and doctors offices offer free coffee to their visitors. This is, in some ways, similar to the fast food dilemma. Do you expect your clients to bring their own cups, or do you provide them with disposables? In the case of an office lobby, however, the solution is a bit simpler. Because the coffee is free, these offices have no financial stake in whether or not their customers get their coffee. Ironically, removing the disposable coffee cups, and therefore taking steps to help the environment, would probably be seen as rude by their customers.
Why Do Those Offices That Don’t Have Visitors Still Use Disposable Coffee Cups?
Some offices who don’t see many, or any visitors, still provide disposable coffee cups. This is not only expensive, but it’s also wasteful. Modern offices, especially those where employees have their own desks, can certainly expect employees to have cups of their own and, if the company is feeling generous, they can always hand out coffee cups with a company logo, or something else of interest to their employees. In this case, the cost savings would come quite quickly as disposable coffee cups are never ordered again.
Deidre likes to write articles about coffee cups and ceramic coffee cups.