Calculations on Coffee Cups

by Sofiya Cherepanova

Submitted : Spring 2015

The objective of this project is determine if disposable cups “ecoGrounds” provided by “The Fresh Food Company” dining hall located at University of South Florida are recyclable or not by calculating the average density of the cup’s material and comparing it with the densities of other types of cups made by the same company. To calculate volume of the materials used in each cup, the method of integration was applied. However, the results of that test were not sufficient to make any conclusions, as the densities turned out to be similar. The further research showed,  that the “ecoGround” cups used in the three USF dining halls were not recyclable, though the paper they were made of is 10% recycled paper. During the Spring semester 2015 2,123 kg of cups were discarded only by “Fresh Food Company Customers”: therefore some suggestions can be made to made to make the dining halls “greener”. First, if the funds of “aramark”, the company providing dining services, are big enough, it is better to buy “Ecotainer” compostable cups instead of “ecoGround” cups. Secondly, the recycling needs promotion among the students: the dining services can cooperate with the student Government to reach some great results. For example, the promotion can include workshop series, posters with facts about recycling, posters asking to separate lids from coffee cups and recycle them.

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