THE DISPOSABLE CRISIS Hello America. Did you know that more than 100 BILLION throw-away are sent to U.S. landfills each year? 100 That’s enough cup trash to circle the earth an astounding 1,744 times! BILLION © Steelys Drinkware 2013 © Steelys Drinkware 2013

Every time you use and toss a paper, or styrofoam cup, it depletes resources, increases C02 emissions, escalates health risks, and adds to our global landfill crisis. CUPS When 315 million Americans repeat this behavior daily, it adds up to a real problem. BILLION BILLION TENS OF BILLIONS 58paper cups 25foam cups of single-use plastic cups trashed thrown away in the U.S. annually consumed in the U.S. annually at U.S. restaurants, cafes & events

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE) 1 Mostly plastic-coated virgin paper (PS) 6 aka “Styrofoam” Polystyrene (PS) 6 & Polypropylene (PP) 5 Foam cups are made of In the U.S. airline 20Million industry alone almost trees are cut down to a non-biodegradable, make paper cups each year -based plastic 9 Billion Contains toxic chemicals that can Every four paper cups are responsible leach and threaten human health plastic cups are used anNually

for creating 1 pound of co2 emissions and reproductive systems

Foam litter hard to contain 12Billion and is a signifcant component gallons of water are used to of land and water pollution make a year’s worth of THE LARGEST of plastic, per person, per year CATEGORIES OF paper cups Can be fatal when consumed are trashed in the U.S., comprising PLASTIC WASTE up to 30% OF LANDFILL SPACE by birds, fish and wildlife are packaging + containers like 53,000 homes cups, bottles, In 2010, plastic cup recycling could be powered annually by energy lids, straws rates were so small it was Polystyrene manufacturing 5th largest considered negligible needed to make & dispose of paper cups industrial producer of hazardous waste & take-out foodware

Most paper cups are Recycled at low rates & will languish Plastic trash makes up to 80% of all coated with plastic and in landfill for 500 years or more ...it’s estimated we CAN’T BE RECYCLED have 6 times more plastic trash in our oceans than plankton The paper industry is the largest industrial Harmful chemicals leached by consumer of water and When incinerated by disposal are present in the third largest industrial companies produces up to 90 bodies of almost every human greenhouse gas emitter toxic & hazardous chemicals being, including newborns

SOURCES: Infographic Research & Design by SteelysDrinkware.com Cup Waste Data Sources >> Waste: U.S. EPA; Styrofoam Cup Waste: Environmental Defense Fund; Plastic Cup Waste: Compilation of government, restaurant, entertainment and event industry estimates. >> Factoid Sources: U.S. EPA, Environmental Defense Fund, Coalition, Treehugger.com, wikipedia.org, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Californians Against Waste, Earth911, ChrisJordan.com, Alliance for Environmental Innovation, thinkoutsidethebin.com. Please share this info to promote more thoughtful cup consumption & choose reusables whenever you can.