Plastic pollution is a major problem all over the world. Did you know that the Philippines is the third worst plastic polluter of the oceans? One of the most depressing things about traveling is seeing how the human race is trashing the planet. Beautiful beaches and tourist spots all all over the country littered with single-use plastic like plastic bags, shampoo sachets, bottle labels, plastic cups and straws.
Not only are these items very hard to recycle, but they pose a danger to marine life and take hundreds of years to dissolve. Why do we continue to use plastic? Because we’ve gotten used to the convenience and throw-away culture. Everything has become disposable. We can all do our part in reducing the plastic trash we generate at home and when we travel. How? By avoiding single-use plastics as much as we can.
READ MORE: 5 items travelers can use to reduce plastic waste
Here’s a short review of the Collapsible Cup by EcoHeroes that you can use as an alternative to disposable plastic and paper cups and bottles when you travel.
DESIGN:
The original EcoHeroes cup that I got comes in standard grey and white, which is very practical and neutral especially for urban settings. I think this will appeal to both girl and guy travelers. You can take it straight from the office (for those much needed coffee breaks at Starbucks to keep you awake at work) to your weekend getaways. They just released a line of new colors in pastel shades of purple, pink, mint green and blue which might appeal to younger travelers, kids or if you prefer other colors.
Each cup comes with its own Scabric Pouch, a cute patchwork pouch made from scrap fabrics (sewn by a local seamstress from Angono, Rizal) so you can carry it around easily. I personally love the pouch and want to buy them (they only cost P30 each!) to use for other gift items, but I think guys might find these a little too girly or prefer more basic / plain pouch options.
PRODUCT FEATURES:
- The EcoHeroes Cup is made of BPA-free Silicone.
- It can hold up to 350ml, -50C to 200C, making it ideal for both hot or cold drinks.
- The cup has a lid with a mouth seal plus a cup sleeve, so you can carry it around and drink easily even if you’re on the go.
- It’s compact. You can collapse it easily into itself and stash it in your bag or backpack.
- It’s sturdy. It doesn’t disintegrate or crumple easily like paper cups after using it for a long time.
- It’s completely spill-proof when covered.
FIELD TEST NOTES:
I got my set during our trip to Catanduanes, which involved a lot of island-hopping and covering a festival. It can be used as a cup for taho, fruit shakes and halo-halo so you don’t have to toss disposable plastic cups from vendors in the trash afterwards. You can also refill drinks from water jugs, pitchers or drinking fountains instead of having to buy mineral water bottles or other drinks that come in plastic bottles.
For beach trips and picnics, it’s an alternative to plastic cups if you’re sharing large bottles of softdrinks or beer with a group. While resorts usually have regular glasses, this isn’t the case for island-hopping trips and picnics where boat operators usually have to bring plastic cups for everyone.
I also brought the cup on a recent family trip to Taiwan, which is known as a great foodie destination. Food-tripping around the stalls in Jiufen and the night markets are great, but I noticed there seems to be a take-out mentality there. Restos don’t seem to encourage people to dine-in, but everyone seems to just eat on the go, buying stuff from convenience stores or ordering takeout from stalls.
You can generate a lot of trash whenever you order drinks or buy food. It’s also hard not to spill your drink when walking around in crowded areas. I used the cup when ordering Almond Milk Drinks and vendors had no problem using this instead of their own plastic cups. When ordering beer, I usually just drink directly from the bottle, but draft Taiwan Beer was being sold on the streets cheaper than bottles, so I used the cup for that.
Our hotel in Taipei also had free coffee, milk tea, juice and water served in the common area, all being served with disposable paper cups. I used this instead for morning coffee and hot chocolate, making it easier to take out drinks when we had to head out. Since the container is larger than regular cups, I could get twice as much coffee and take-out drinks.
Our hotel room also had no glass in the bathroom for brushing teeth, so I used this there as well. It’s a better option than the paper cups (which we got from the coffee stall) which disintegrated after a day of use.
Another practical application was at the airport in Taiwan before heading back. I had one bottle of Taiwanese craft beer that I couldn’t bring because I had no check-in luggage. Since no liquids are allowed after a certain point, I was forced to have the beer for breakfast. I kind of didn’t want to be judged by people for drinking a bottle of beer in public at 7:30 in the morning so I ended up transferring the beer into the cup. It was a leisurely stroll around the airport, drinking the hoppy goodness (which airport staff assumed was coffee) right before I had to go to Immigration (in a cheerful mood).
Travel blogger friends and I also used our cups during the recently held MNL Craft Beer Festival 2018 at Greenfield District. Like typical bazaars and food festivals, most booths here serve drinks out of disposable plastic cups and samplers in small paper cups, while some food vendors still use styrofoam packs, which can add to a lot of trash.
PROS:
- Who goes around carrying an actual glass or cup whenever they leave the house, right? Well, this cup’s collapsible and doesn’t take much space in your bag!
- When collapsed, this can fit in your pocket.
- It isn’t as bulky as a regular water bottle or jug.
- It’s sturdy, compact and spill-proof.
- It comes with a cup sleeve, so you can easily carry both hot and cold drinks.
- You generate less waste.
CONS:
- I don’t always remember to bring it when I go out. Sometimes it gets left behind in another bag or my hotel room.
- When you’re on the go, you may not have a chance to rinse it out before you collapse it into itself again.
- When it’s still full, you can’t just stash it somewhere in your bag like a water bottle which you can cover and fits into side pockets.
- It’s made of silicone and the cup has a tendency to absorb smells or flavors of drinks if you’re not able to rinse it out at once.
- The aroma is noticeable for strong-smelling drinks like coffee and cocoa. For ex. when using it to brush teeth after breakfast, it still smells like coffee even after rinsing. After the night market, it had a distinct almond milk smell.
- My cup currently smells like craft beer since I took out some leftover beer from the festival and put the whole cup in the ref overnight. Now, when I drink from it (even water), there’s a slight hoppy aroma. Am not complaining about that though. It’s actually quite nice. This should probably be a pro not a con.
COST & WHERE TO GET IT:
The collapsible travel cup costs only Php 350 per cup, including the Scabric Pouch. They deliver and do meet-ups in the Rizal area. To order, visit Eco-heroes on Facebook.
VERDICT:
The pros outweigh the cons. The cup is affordable, practical, lightweight, useful and can make you feel good about generating less trash. I’ll definitely use this in my future trips. I also wouldn’t mind buying it as a gift for friends. The eye-catching pouch makes it a great gift item with an environmental message.
The ideal solution would be to address the source of the problem in the first place and for corporations to stop manufacturing all those single-use plastics. Some people could argue that there are better ways to fight the waste problem than refusing plastic straws or cups, but I think the #NotoPointlessPlastic movement is easy enough for ordinary folks to catch on to and support and can eventually lead to greater environmental awareness or inspire others. Bringing extra items like water bottles, tumblers and reusable containers when you travel may seem like a hassle at first, but it’s a small way travelers can do their part to help the environment instead of just doing nothing, right?
And while it may take years for our collective behavior to change and we can go totally zero waste, there’s still hope. Just check out this indigenous community in Guatemala that has banned plastic products altogether and gone back to using traditional containers to save the environment!
