Plastic will never be "green"
We appreciate the intention of teams using reusable plastic cups/containers, but this is little more than greenwashing. Even when delivering these reusable plastics to a plastics recycler, the plastic recycling rates are atrocious. Maybe it's "wish-cycling"?
“Solving a plastic problem with thicker, more durable plastic is not the solution. ”
Plastic will never be green. The USEFULL team has VERY intentionally worked to develop a solution that solves for our plastic problem.
Ignoring the recycling factor, plastic production is environmentally harmful and often impacts human health (e.g. GhG emissions, and carcinogens.) Beyond environmental impact, plastic is detrimental to human health, especially when we put hot food/drinks inside. There is no biodegrading, plastics/micro-plastics will be with us forever. Plastic "reusables" are better than single use, but far from where we need to be.
At USEFULL, we've designed custom stainless steel cups and bowls with silicone lids. Are inventory is double walled vacuum sealed to help ensure food integrity from the restaurant to your mouth.
“Plastic reusable programs claiming to be “green and sustainable” are anything but!”
Stainless steel does a much better job at tackling the issues mentioned above: recycling at end of life, production, and safety of using with hot food/drink. It even has a much longer life cycle, but we must note that our inventory is certainly not perfect. We are working on a replacement for the silicone lids in our inventory. Silicone too is rarely recycled, but better for human health than plastic. We've explored bamboo, ceramics, and glass and continue to be curious about materials. We want to find a local manufacturer for our inventory.
We are building our team to eliminate plastics starting in our backyard, Boston and New England. We are focused on creating a truly practical and sustainable solution. We're open to learning and growing. We live and die with this, together.
By Alison Rogers, Founder & CEO