I'm sure you've all heard the slogan, "America runs on Dunkin'." That might very well be true. The company's website boasts that today, Dunkin' Donuts is America's largest retailer of coffee-by-the-cup, serving nearly 1 billion cups of brewed coffee each year.
When people are in a rush, looking for that coffee fix, I bet they are not realizing how much Styrofoam is being used, and thrown away each year in the United States. Each year Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam cups! That is enough to circle the Earth 436 times.
Styrofoam products are hazardous not only to the environment, but also to your health! Styrofoam is not biodegradable and leaks toxins into underground water supplies beneath landfills. Some landfills incinerate their trash, which in turn produces millions of tons of polystyrene ending up as toxic airborne ash. Even though Styrofoam cups are labeled with a # 6, it is not accepted in most curbside recycling programs. If a company is able to recycle it, it is only done in small quantities due to the high costs. When stored or heated (like your piping hot cup of Dunkin' Donuts joe) packaging such as Styrofoam may leach the potential carcinogen styrene into the food or drinks that container is holding.
If we could convince Dunkin%u2019 Donuts to switch to paper products like their competitors Wawa and Starbucks, that would be a great first step. It would be even better if they could turn it up another notch and start using post-consumer recycled paper, bamboo, or corn plastics all of which are easily renewable resources that can either be recycled or would biodegrade. Unless people start speaking up, they won%u2019t be swayed to change at all. Think about what an easy way this would be to reduce 1 billion Styrofoam cups a year!
They can use paper cups for lattes, why not for the rest of the billion cups of coffee that Dunkin Donuts sells each year? Speak out! Tell Dunkin Donuts that you want paper cups across the board! They won't do anything without your input!
Please sign this petition (and tell your friends and family about it) urging Dunkin%u2019 Donuts to switch away from using Styrofoam cups!
