Plastic or paper? The winning cup

When we consider the use of plastic, its production and disposal - we immediately believe it to be the poor choice.  For example many of us automatically see a paper cup as preferable to a plastic one.  However a Canadian study has shown that a polystyrene cup uses less energy and raw materials in its production than a paper cup. But the paper cup will degrade right? Not if its put in a landfill.  And what about all that double cupping to protect your hands? Friends of the Earth, the voice of common sense, say that its better to use reusable cups than disposable ones.  But its not always going to be possible to have your reusable cup handy (excepting my grandma who even takes her willow pattern china cup on holiday). 

There's a great discussion at Treehugger - Eco cups - spilling the beans - basically you have to use your ceramic cup about 600 times to get your energy's worth.  Sounds a lot but with a couple of cups of tea a day, you'll soon reach that amount - as long as you're not a butter fingers!  Why not splash out on a Sigg Thermo Mug (£13.95) for hot drinks on the go? Plus you may like to protect your table with a coffee cup coaster made from recycled plastic vending cups - £3 at Biome Lifestyle .  [Ella - Thanks for the info Alex M]