Single-use beverage cups and their alternatives: Recommendations from Life Cycle Assessments

Single-use beverage cups and their alternatives: Recommendations from Life Cycle Assessments

Published: February 2021

The use of disposable beverage cups is set to rise exponentially in line with changing food trends that favor convenience. This report summarizes current knowledge about the environmental performance of single-use beverage cups and their alternatives in order to guide policy actions to regulate their use. It is a meta-analysis of ten Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies that can be grouped in three distinct clusters: LCA studies comparing single-use beverage cups; LCA studies comparing single-use and reusable beverage cups (hot drinks); and LCA studies comparing single-use and reusable beverage cups (cold drinks).

 

publication year

Data and Methods

Life cycle assessment

Document type

Meta-study

Language

English

Sector or product area

Packaging, Plastics, Single-use plastic products