118 billion is the most recent figure on the number of disposable coffee cups and their lids sold each year.
That’s a staggering figure. And it’s even more staggering that the vast majority of those cups and lids are tossed in the garbage. Recycling takes a chunk of them, but inevitably people fail to recycle, or the systems in place are too confusing or, sadly, inconvenient for people to use.
Liplid is an innovative lid design, made entirely plastic-free, that aims to drastically reduce the amount of plastic that gets used or tossed.
Able to snap onto any standard to-go cup, the lid prevents plastic from being used for brief periods, the dreaded single-use format.
The stricter option would be to not allow disposable cups at all, like some Blue Bottle coffee shops already do, making customers pay for reusable cups and mugs instead.
However, we’re quite certain that there’d be diminishing returns in this approach, at least to begin with. So an innovative alternative like Liplid seems like a great step. They also sound like an improvement on the traditional plastic top.
Based out of Sweden, we imagine you’ll be seeing their distinctive molded lids before long.
“The Lidlip hangs on two sides of the cup’s lid, bowing down slightly inside. On either side are sipping holes. One hole can vent and cool the beverage; the other can be used to drink. The Liplid gets made out of 100% recyclable material made of Swedish pine and spruce using a unique dry molded fiber process.”
“We have developed an environmentally friendly lid that sits inside the cup. [Liplid] improves the cup’s stability and the overall drinking experience,” Bendix and Löfholm said in a press release. “You drink from the rim of the cup instead of the lid, so you don’t burn yourself, and it doesn’t taste like plastic or paper. The coffee tastes just like it does in your coffee cup at home.”
