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San Francisco and Germany-based startup GaeaStar has developed a new disposable coffee cup made from clay. It can be thrown on the ground and discarded with no negative effect on the environment.
Most of the time, throwing used coffee cups on the ground and walking away is selfish, lazy, and deserving of criticism.
However, these new clay coffee cups created by startup GaeaStar could be the exception to the rule. Made completely from dirt, salt, and water, each cup is 3D-printed and easily disposable with no need for further processing or recycling.
The company tested commercial, public use at coffee shops and ice cream parlours in Berlin and are now moving forward with production in the US. The first cups will be tested in California.
The waste caused by coffee is huge.
A 2016 study reported that up to 50 billion disposable cups are used every year in the US alone, and most end up in landfills. Recycled or composted cups, while a better alternative to single-use plastics, still require energy to be repurposed.
GaeaStar says its clay variant cups can be smashed or thrown anyway anywhere, as they’re essentially just dirt. Founder and CEO Sanjeev Mankotia commented that ‘end to end, it comes from the earth and goes back to the earth’.
Clay cups reportedly use roughly 60% less energy to make than plastic or paper cups too, and is no more expensive. GaeaStar also claims its cups are 10 times stronger than paper ones, describing them as ‘the fine China experience with the convenience of disposability.’
