Even though reusable bamboo containers for your morning coffee may seem like you're helping the environment, a new report by German researchers said even though they are replacement for the traditional takeaway cups which create more than 40,000 metric tons of trash in Germany alone, the bamboo cups still have issues on Tuesday, according to Deutsche Welle.
Even though the cups can help replace some disposable coffee cups, data cited by German consumers from the Stiftung Warentest foundation uncovered potentially dangerous chemicals in all 12 of the bamboo cups commercially available they tested.
Nearly all the brands also included"fake advertising promises" on their origins or their environmental impact.
The foundation warned consumers to "keep your hands away from bamboo cups" in an online article announcing their test results, calling on people who resort to takeaway for their caffeine fix to use reusable containers made from other materials.
The bamboo cups are often marketed as being made from bamboo fiber or whole bamboo, but the report said that means the bamboo is often ground into a powder and then using an adhesive, made into the shape of the cup.
That means the cups nearly all contained melamine resin, a type of glue made of formaldehyde and organic compound melamine.
Formaldehyde can lead to irritation of the eyes, organs, and skin, but has also been known to cause cancer through inhalation; while melamine is suspected of causing damage to the bladder and kidneys, according to the researchers.
Warentest said melamine resin is harmless unless it goes above 70 degrees Celsius (158 Fahrenheit), which is often below the cup of your morning cup of joe.
Researchers tested the bamboo cups by first filling them with an acidic liquid which is analogous to coffee while keeping it at a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius for two hours.
They then tested the fluid for chemicals, repeating the process several times to uncover that a number of the cups contained a "very high content" of melamine, while others also released high amounts of formaldehyde.
Only one of the 12 cups tested had no "harmful chemical problem" and did not contain misleading information on its packaging.
The researchers also warned consumers from microwaving their bamboo containers since the process damages the material and can lead to even more harmful chemicals being released.
In other sustainable coffee news, San Francisco's legislature is considering adding a tax for coffee drinkers to pay .25 cents for using disposable cups at coffee shops.
Customers in grocery stores already pay .10 cents for bags at stores, but now coffee shops could be next for a green tax by following the example of Berkeley California.
Berkeley announced in January it was enacting the "Disposable Foodware and Litter Reduce ordinance, which forces restaurants, cafes, and other businesses to charge customers 25 cents for each disposable cup.
The city of Berkeley is also considering a pilot project to use loaner coffee cups at several cafes instead of recyclable options.
"One of the options we're finding is the more options you have the more results you get," said City Councilmember Sophie Hahn. "Some people, for example, if you're in a dorm room, don't really have facilities for washing a cup every day."
The program will use stainless steel cups made by the Colorado company called "Vessel," which will be free so long as they're returned to a Vessel kiosk within five days.
"We are health department certified," explained Vessel co-founder Dagny Tucker. "We wash and sanitize everything and even distribute it in health department certified food-grade containers."
-WN.com, Maureen Foody
Photo:
AP / Julio Cortez
