Your paper coffee cup may be harboring a dangerous secret: a thin polyethylene lining. Sure, the plastic coating keeps your cup from getting soggy, but microplastics it sheds may end up in your body. By some estimates, Americans use roughly 136 million of these disposable cups each day. But because mixing paper and plastic is a recycling no-no, they may all wind up in a landfill. Now help may be on the way, according to a new paper published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.
After their testing revealed polyethylene-coated cups experience surface degradation and particle release, a team of chemists from the University of Waterloo decided to make their own waterproof coating. The researchers developed a recipe for a plant-based protective barrier made of cellulose acetate infused with cellulose nanocrystals to provide sturdiness.
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“Learning how easily some plastic liners can shed particles was eye-opening,” study author Shirley Tang explained in a statement. “The fact that we have created such a high-performance all-cellulose coating that doesn’t rely on conventional plastics is what makes this work particularly exciting because there are so many possibilities.”
The team tested the substance in a variety of conditions and found it was heat-stable in 176-degree Fahrenheit conditions, as well as resistant to strong alcohols, acids, and bases (not that you should be drinking any of those). And because it’s just as plant-based as paper cups, you can toss the whole thing in the recycling bin.
With widespread adoption, it could even save manufacturers some money. “The coating allowed us to use much thinner paper while still achieving the durability needed for beverage containers,” study author Sayan Ganguly explained. “That could reduce the amount of material required to manufacture cups while maintaining performance and lowering costs. These savings could ultimately be passed on to the consumer.”
Let’s hope so. Starbucks isn’t getting any cheaper.
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