Multi-Use Cups

[Anchor Lead]

Many people have one or two multi-use cups like a tumbler. More and more people are purchasing these multi-use cups as they are considered eco-friendly. If they remain unused, multi-use cups can be worse than disposable cups for the environment. Let's find out more.

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Byun Hye-ri is an office worker with a career experience of six years. She carries a tumbler cup with her wherever she goes. At coffee shops, she uses her own tumbler, not disposable paper cups. She washes her cup multiple times a day.

[Soundbite] Byun Hye-ri(Office Worker) : "I always carry a tumbler when I leave my house or work away from the office. I try to help the environment as much as possible."

However, not many people carry tumblers and multi-use cups in their everyday lives. The main reason is that it is inconvenient to carry and wash it each time before using it. However, multi-use cups can be worse for the environment than disposable cups if they remain unused. This is because more environmental pollutants are discharged in the process of producing multi-use cups than for disposable cups.

[Soundbite] Bae Sun-young(Environmental Activist) : "Multi-use bottles or tumblers were made as a solution to environmental pollution caused by disposable cups. But they rather hurt the environment, as there is a tendency to regard them as a trendy fashion item."

While many multi-use cups are left unused, 23 billion disposable cups are used each year in South Korea. But only one percent is recycled.