How the new PLA hot cup is made

Combining three main ingredients, corn, paper and water, a revolutionary cup is created.  The new cup, is the first of its kind using a bio-plastic lining inside the cup to prevent leaking.  Unlike conventional hot cups that use a petro-based chemical, the new these hot cup uses plastic derived from corn.  Combining proprietary corn-based polylactide polymers (from plant sugars) and other proprietary polymer alloys, the result is a high-performance tight-cell bio-plastic resin that can be used as a water-proof barrier.  Because this resin is derived solely from corn it is naturally compostable.  Once the cup is formed, using fibers grown and harvested according to guidelines from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the bio-plastic resin is applied to the inside of the cup.  The end result is a revolutionary new hot cup that is helping reduce the need for oil and also helping to protect the environment.

Facts about conventional hot cups and the PLA alternative

• Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biopolymer derived from lactic acid that is produced by the fermentation of corn sugars. Less energy is needed to manufacture the PLA used in the new cup coating than the petroleum based lining it replaces.
• Theoretically, a petroleum-based cup liner will stay intact for eternity after being discarded. The PLA liner will break down under the proper conditions.
• In 2005, Americans used and discarded 14.4 billion disposable paper cups for hot beverages. If put end-to-end, those cups would circle the earth 55 times. Based on anticipated growth of specialty coffees, that number will grow to 23 billion by 2010—enough to circle the globe 88 times.
• Based on hot cup usage in 2005, the petrochemicals used in the manufacture of those cups could have heated 8,300 homes for one year.
• By choosing to utilize a corn-based cup liner, you can help prevent the unnecessary consumption of millions of pounds of non-renewable petrochemical materials every year.
• Nearly 70 percent of the energy used to produce the paperboard for this cup is from renewable energy resources.