Single-use Beverage Cups and Their Alternatives: Recommendations from Life Cycle Assessments

The use of disposable beverage cups is set to rise exponentially in line with changing food trends that favor convenience. This report summarises current knowledge about the environmental performance of single-use beverage cups and their alternatives in order to guide policy actions to regulate their use. It is a meta-analysis of ten Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies that can be grouped in three distinct clusters: LCA studies comparing single-use beverage cups; LCA studies comparing single-use and reusable beverage cups (hot drinks); and LCA studies comparing single-use and reusable beverage cups (cold drinks).