Do you bring your own cup when getting coffee to-go?
If you are using disposable utensils, you are wasting oil, cutting trees, burning waste and causing global warming. It has become a trend in Taiwan for people bring their own reusable cups and utensils when eating out.
Here's a list you can purchase to be environmentally-friendly:
Utensils: tools used for preparing, serving and eating food - Example: the most common types are knives, spoons and forks - Other words: cutlery, silverware, tableware and flatware
Chopsticks: each of a pair of small, thin, tapered sticks of wood, ivory, or plastic, held together in one hand and used as eating utensils especially by the Chinese and the Japanese
Straw: a thin hollow tube of paper or plastic for sucking drink from a glass or bottle. Reusable straws are made with metal, glass, or bamboo
Reusable shopping bag: sometimes called bag-for-life in England; a type of shopping bag which can be reused many times. Used as an alternative to single-use paper/ plastic bags
Food container: used for carrying food on the go, leftovers and general food storage
Cup holder: something used to hold a cup or other drinking vessel. May be built into automobiles or chairs, or fixed to the walls of airplanes, boats, buses and trains. It is also used in Asian countries to hold drinks like a bag when walking around.
You can find these at any zero waste and plastic-free stores.
Time for some listening practice!
Listen to the BBC Talk on Coffee cups: Do you use your own?
What is the talk about?
Which country drinks the most coffee per capita (the average per person)?
Are takeaway coffee cups recyclable? Why or why not?
How do big coffee chains solve the problem of customers using disposable cups? What efforts are they putting in to help the environment with the paper cups?
Do you think us as consumers need a nudge to help us remember to bring our reusable cups or bags? Why or why not?
Three words you learned from the talk. Share the sentences with me in class!
Are you an environmentalist, or a coffee lover? Either one, I have just the right lesson for you.
↘Comment below which reusable utensils you have and use! Tag a friend↙
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