Foldable paper coffee cup – Video of the day

More than eight million tons of plastic waste enter the ocean each year, and plastic lids make up approximately 5% of that. New York City alone uses about 1.5 billion lids a year – enough to wrap around the Earth 3.5 times. Furthermore, lids are prone to leaks and spills that often cause inconvenience or injury. To solve these problems, New York City based engineer and architect Kaanur Papo have spent four years to develop Unocup, a foldable paper coffee cup that doesn’t need a plastic lid. Unocup is spill-resistant, easy to fold, and comfortable to drink from. Additionally, its design is optimized for mass-production using existing cup-making machinery. Using Unocup will yield significant cost and energy savings in manufacturing, storage, and transportation that would otherwise be spent on plastic lids.