[mjevans]

"The paper cups Starbucks currently uses contain a plastic lining"

When someone says "Paper" cup, I assume paper and some kind of wax as a sealant, not plastic. I wonder if this violates any kind of FDA or FTC rules?

[jazzyjackson]

Starbucks isn’t special here, it’s a waterproof cup. I always assumed it was some kind of wax too so I also had a flashback to all the paper cups I threw in a recycling can [0]. But on second thought, what kind of wax deals well with water at 95C ? They’re all plastic coated.

[0] I guess most recycling is land filled or dumped in the ocean anyway, so my sins didn’t affect much of the outcome

[tootie]

Isn't the material used irrelevant though? You can't recycle any paper product once it's been stained with food.

[papito]

But all food containers are like that. They are not recyclable. In fact, MOST things that you'd expected to be recyclable are not. Your bottle doesn't have a cap on? It will sink in water and end up in a landfill. Glass other color than clear? Landfill. And so on.

[omega3]

I was recently surprised to learn that metal cans are also lined with plastic.