The Coffee Cups Made From Dirt: Smash Them on the Ground and Walk Away
C/NET 4/16/2023
Imagine the horrified looks you'd get if you dropped your paper coffee cup on the ground, stepped on it and walked away. A startup based in San Francisco and Germany says you can do exactly that with its cups, guilt-free.
GaeaStar is getting ready to introduce its 3D-printed, disposable clay cups to the US, after a successful trial period at coffee shops and ice cream parlors in Berlin. Watch the video above to learn more.
The cups are made from just three ingredients: dirt, salt and a small amount of water. Founder and CEO Sanjeev Mankotia told CNET he had the idea when he was visiting family in India and his cousin was drinking chai from a terracotta cup she bought from a street vendor. "She drank the cup, and then smashed it on the ground. And I was like, 'You're throwing something away that's creating litter.' And her reaction was, "It's made out of dirt, why is this an issue?"