Single-use paper cups as toxic as plastic cups, research finds

However, according to Wired.com, recently published research shows that single-use paper cups can be just as toxic as conventional plastic ones if they end up littered in natural environment.

Seemingly eco-friendly paper cups are coated with a thin layer of plastic to keep their contents from seeping into the paper, and this lining can emit toxic substances, said Bethanie Carney Almroth, an associate professor of environmental science at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

In the paper titled “Single-use take-away cups of paper are as toxic to aquatic midge larvae as plastic cups”, lead author Carney Almroth said she and her colleagues placed both plastic and paper cups in water or sediment for up to four weeks, allowing them to leach out.

Then, the midge larvae were added to each environment. Researchers found that the larvae grew less in both the sediment and the water, regardless of which material contaminated the environment.

Wired said the ecotoxicologists did not perform chemical analyses to see which substances had leached from the paper cups into the water and sediment, though the author suspects that a mix of chemicals caused the damage.

“This would all be much easier [to analyse] if companies were required to tell us what they use in their products,” she said.

Wired said manufacturers of single-use paper cups add processing aids, heat stabilisers, and other substances, many of which are known to be toxic. Even if plant-derived materials are used to coat paper cups, cup-makers often add a number of other chemicals during processing.

Researchers say it is best to retire disposable paper cups altogether instead of recycling, due to the difficulty in separating the plastic coating from the cup’s paper.