Not to sound too much like your mom after a few hours doomscrolling Facebook, but microplastics! They’re everywhere! And while she may not have all the data to back her opinion on seed oils, your mom appears to be right about this one. Microplastics are everything, including our own bodies.
And one of the ways they get there, most disconcertingly, is from our coffee, the to-go cups specifically. The thin polyethylene lining inside to-go cups degrades under high temperatures and leach into your coffee. (They also keep to-go cups from being recyclable.) But researchers from the University of Waterloo have created a new plastic-free, plant-based coating that will keep microplastics out of your body and to-go cups out of landfills.
As reported by Nautilus, the researchers’ findings were published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. For it, they sought out to create a “fully cellulosic barrier” to replace traditional “fossil-derived” polymers like polyethylene. To make the new substance, they combined cellulose acetate, a plant-derived biopolymer derived from natural plant cellulose, derived from substances like wood pulp or even coffee parchment. The cellulose acetate gets reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals, creating a new substance that coated on the inside of to-go cups.
They found that this substance was heat-stable up to temperatures of 176°F, above the temperature brewed coffee is normally served at in cafes and well above ideal drinking temperature. And because it is plant-based, the cup can be recycled after use.
The researchers note a potential for cost savings as well. In their testing, they found the coating allowed them to use much thinner paper to make the cups without sacrificing durability. This could theoretically reduce material costs. This would require significant buy-in from manufacturers in order to achieve any sort of mass adoption.
But honestly, that may be easier than asking you to remember to bring a damn reusable mug when you go to a coffee shop. Think about that. An entire industry, revolutionized with less friction than with asking you to have a mug in your hand when you walk out the front door on your way to doing the thing you do everyday. Are you thinking about it? Good. You should be. Shame.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
