![]() ![]() "Several federal states are working on voluntary agreements with restaurants and coffee chains," Fischer said, with pilot projects already developing in cities such as Rosenheim and Hamburg. When finished, they could return the cup to any participating business and receive their deposit. PisacretaĪs opposed to coffee houses simply offering refills, the DUH is proposing a linear "Pfandsystem" that would see coffee drinkers paying a deposit for a multi-use cup on the purchase of their drink. More than 50 businesses are now participating in Freiburg's pilot scheme Image: picture-alliance/ROPI/A. Customers have to plan to have their cup with them and carry it around before and after their coffee," he explained. ![]() "It's encouraging to see that some businesses are already offering to fill up thermal coffee cups for example, but sometimes this isn't very consumer-friendly. "We need to improve the appeal of multi-use cups and make the use of disposable cups less attractive," Fischer said. Thomas Fischer, head of recycling management at DUH, told DW that there are two potential solutions to reducing the number of disposable cups in circulation. Add in polyethylene coatings, which prevent the cup becoming soggy, a plastic lid, the occasional stirring stick, paper sleeves and cardboard carrying aids and what was originally a cup begins to resemble a small dinner set.įaced with the growing environmental impact of Germany's love for java, the German Environmental Aid Association (DUH) is calling for a concerted effort to achieve a uniform multi-path system. In response to EU and German regulations that call for manufacturers to ensure substances cannot leech into food or drink containers, companies have turned to using virgin materials in packaging.īut there's more than just the cup. ![]() PisacretaĪlmost no recycled paper fibers are used in the production of single-use cups, meaning that some 43,000 trees must be felled annually to keep up with Germany's demand for a cup of joe on the go. Germany's love for coffee on the go has left cities struggling to deal with the mass of paper cups Image: picture-alliance/ROPI/A. CO2 emissions of around 83,000 tons are generated every year for the production of coffee-to-go cups consumed in Germany. With 70 percent of Germans currently defining themselves as a "particularly frequent" or "occasional" consumer of "drinks-to-go," some 320,000 coffee-to-go cups are being used across the country every hour, equating to almost 3 billion a year.Ī representative study by the market research company TNS Emnid showed that in Berlin alone, about 460,000 coffee-to-go cups are consumed every day - and the production line is starting to take its toll. The leaning towers of coffee cups climbing out of trash cans across city centers are just a small indicator of the environmental consequences that come with convenience. In Germany alone, around 15 percent of coffee consumed is on the go - around a third of which is sipped from a single use cup. But in recent years, the number of coffee houses offering "coffee to go" has sky-rocketed, making sure that in between their hectic schedules, everyone can get their caffeine fix at the most convenient moment. For centuries, Europe's coffee culture was one that belonged predominantly to socializing and enjoyment. ![]()
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