Single-use paper cups used for takeout coffee and other beverages release millions of microplastic particles when exposed to hot liquid, University of Queensland researchers have found.
A team from UQ's Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences examined single-use cups lined with fossil-based polyethylene (PE) or the biodegradable alternative polylactic acid (PLA).
Dr. Elvis Okoffo said both types of cups were found to release plastic particles, but PLA-lined, or biodegradable plastic-lined, cups released 12 times more.
The research is published in ACS Food Science & Technology.
Biodegradable lining released more
