A Solution to The Disposable Cup

Organic

Reusable

Disposable

Locally Made

Open Source

Beautiful

Introducing an open source, non-industrial, 100% organic solution to transcend the global scourge of disposable cups.  Moving on from plastic, manufactured and imported cup high-technology, this a low-tech, local solution, that can be freely copied by anyone, anywhere.

The EarthCup Vision

We envision a locally produced, organic cup that is accessible to anyone.  Our vision is of an open source cup design that anyone can download, print the specs and photos, and take to their local potter to locally mass produced.  The design includes the vector files for design virtue icons that can be stamped onto the cup.  From there, anyone can get their own cups locally made for their own coffee store, or to supply coffee cups for stores in their community.  The dissemination is mandalic– one uses the cup for oneself, then with one’s circle of friends.  The wide dissemination will for users to contribute back their own revisions and insights to the central design core.

 

The Insanity

We all know it’s a ridiculously massive problem: those Starbucks and Tim Hortons cups that are manufactured way over in China, shipped to your country and then dumped into a landfill after 15 minutes of usage. A recent report in the Guardian found that in the UK alone 2 Billion coffee cups are despised of every year: “Coffee-addicted Britain is leaving a mountain of toxic waste for the next generation as scientists warn it could take decades for paper cups from Starbucks, Pret a Manger and other chains to decompose.”

A mixture of polyethylene plastic and high quality virgin paper means the cups are completely un-recyclable and not compostable. It not only takes an estimated 30 years to degrade, but once degraded, methane and micro plastics result.  And to make the cups the Guardian estimates Britain alone cuts down 100,000 trees.  It’s quite literally civilization all insanity.

 

Capital Industrial Re-Design Faiure

People have been working a better coffee cup for decades. Starbucks has been trying to up the recycled content of the cup from 5 to 30% (still no success). Other companies try to manufacture the cups from all organic materials– a step forward to be sure, but they are unable to compete with the massive economies of scale of the entrenched plastic cup manufacturers. So to this day, there is no change and no progress. Go to Starbucks, McDonalds or any other coffee shop and it’s virtually the same cup as in 2007.

Here in Bali, we have Avani cups that are made from Casava and biodegradable.  However, my friend who handles their FedEx account, reports that these cups are actually manufactured in China and imported to Bali.  These cups, because of the shipping involved remain prohibitively expensive and dubious in their net ecological value.

The Problem is the Paradigm

The coffee cup is a great example of how you cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that generated it. All this time, innovators and companies are working in the same capital-industrial paradigm of manufacturing and global distribution and petroleum power. No wonder the innovations are more of the same.

“A problem cannot be solved by the same consciousness that generated it.

— Albert Einstein.

A whole new way of doing things is necessary! It’s taken me ten years to realize this myself. Back in 2007 I was super critical of the cups. In 2014 I worked in a recycling plant and saw all the cups being dumped. Only now, after observing the success of Ecobricks, and distilling the underlying principles, do I have an inkling how it can be done.

 

 

 

Source Files and Status

The EarthCup design process is now on its fourth prototype.  We continue to refine both the design, creation process, and virtue icons.  You can now download the source files for our two cup sizes:

Design Doc

Bring this document to your local potter to provide precise specifications for creation.

Large EarthCup
(12.5 cm high / 120oz
Large EarthCup Design Document v1.4.0 ENG (PDF 150k)

Small Cup
(10cm high, 80oz):
EarthCup Concept, Icons and Dimension – Small – v1.4.3

Virtue Icons for Stamp Making


Download and bring this pdf to a stamp maker to make the virtue icons for the side of the cup, and the icon for the top of the lid.

Small Cup
(10cm high, 80oz)
EarthCup Icon Stamps – Small – v1.4.3

 

 

 

We can now make small runs of cups in Ubud, Bali.  Drop us a line if you are interested.

 

 

 

My Posts on EarthCup progress

EarthCup and Trainer Check In!

EarthCup and Trainer Check In!

I was really excited to return to Kampung Blekok the other day.  About two years ago, not only had we led an ecobrick training-of-trainers in this community... but I also met Cak Ali!   Ali had joined our training to figure how to deal with his community' plastic. ...

Coffee time v1.4

Coffee time v1.4

Ani and I are traveling extensively these few weeks through eastern Indonesia. We are sharing ecobricks in Moluku province. This morning, 5am, we are at the Ambon airport prepping to fly to Buru Island on a small plane. I just got my airport coffee -- in my EarthCup...

Even more local…

Even more local…

Bali is full of surprises. Last week my friend Swastika helped me find some potters just a few kilometres away from my house! They make very traditional and simple earthenware.  The quality of the firing and glaze isn't quite as high as the guys who made our first...

EarthCups.org

EarthCups.org

The latest EarthCups are in, and our virtue icons are updated with the new project domain!  Www.EarthCups.org  A big thanks to Sehati Industri, a health drink store in Ubud, who are pioneering the use of the EarthCups and making these first, invaluable orders to keep...

EarthCups Go Iconic

EarthCups Go Iconic

I was pleasantly surprised on my return to Bali by the completion of our latest run of EarthCup prototypes. 25 new cups, with improvement to form and function have arrived! The cup now has a slight lip-- to emulate the form factor of a traditional disposable cup. The...




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The EarthCup is designed to be made using the same super cheap pottery in the shape and volume of your standard takeaway cup. It will include a simple clay top to keep your beverage warm and protected. A company’s logo can be stamped into the cup while the clay is still damp.

 

 

 

Russs.net

Russell is a regenerative artist, inventor and philosopher based in Bali, Indonesia.  He is one of the principals of global the Ecobrick.  His regenerative theories are inspired by his time amongst the Igorot people, his journey with plastic and his work mandalas.  Russell is currently working on a new theory of Earthen Ethics and Plastic Sequestration.  You can follow him on Facebook

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