激進的咖啡杯設計瞄準了塑料杯蓋

激進的咖啡杯設計瞄準了塑料杯蓋

The long, oft-contentious relationship between plastic lids and paper coffee cups may soon come to a welcome end.

塑料杯蓋和紙制咖啡杯之間長期存在的、經常引起爭議的關系可能很快就要結束了。

The Unocup aims to combat waste by ditching plastic coffee cup lids in favor of an integrated, foldable design. (Photo: photography: cara vision/Unocup)

A new company called Unocup is securing financial backing through Kickstarter for an innovative paper coffee cup that ditches plastic and embraces an ergonomic and spill-resistant integrated lid. The idea, conceived by designers Tom Chan and Kaanur Papo, is aimed directly at combatting the 8.25 million tons of plastic waste that enters the oceans each year. In New York City alone, nearly 1.5 billion plastic coffee lids are discarded annually.

一家名為Unocup的新公司正在通過Kickstarter為一款創(chuàng)新的紙制咖啡杯爭取資金支持。該紙制咖啡杯拋棄了塑料，采用了符合人體工程學的防噴濺一體化杯蓋。這個想法是由設計師Tom Chan和Kaanur Papo提出的，旨在直接對抗每年流入海洋的825萬噸塑料垃圾。僅在紐約市，每年就有近15億個咖啡塑料蓋子被丟棄。

According to the designers, it takes only a few seconds to quickly engage the spill-resistant and ergonomic foldable lid. (Photo: photography: cara vision/Unocup)

The Unocup's journey from idea to commercially-ready product started in 2015 as an entry in an invention competition at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in Manhattan. After winning a $100,000 international sustainability prize from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the design underwent an additional 800 prototypes before settling on the easy-to-use form.

2015年，曼哈頓庫珀聯(lián)盟科學與藝術促進會舉辦了一場發(fā)明競賽，Unocup從創(chuàng)意到商業(yè)化成品的旅程由此拉開序幕。在獲得艾倫·麥克阿瑟基金會頒發(fā)的10萬美元國際可持續(xù)發(fā)展獎后，該設計又經歷了800次原型試驗，最終選定了易于使用的形式。

The Unocup was conceived in 2015 as part of an invention competition at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. (Photo: photography: cara vision/Unocup)

According to the company, folding and unfolding the integrated lid is quick and intuitive. Gone are the days of having make do with an ill-fitting plastic lid or risk spillage with an accidental grip from above. Even the drinking experience, they claim, is an improvement.

據(jù)該公司介紹，折疊和打開集成的蓋子是快速和直觀的。用一個不合適的塑料蓋湊合著用，或者從上面意外抓握而冒著溢出的危險的日子已經一去不復返了。他們聲稱，即使是飲用經歷，也是一種進步。

"Unocup's drinking spout is designed to fit your lips perfectly and create the smoothest drinking experience," the Kickstarter page explains. "Traditional plastic lids feature a rigid opening that feels unnatural, while Unocup's curved drinking spout guides your beverage fluidly to your mouth."

眾籌網站Kickstarter的頁面上解釋道:“Unocup的飲嘴設計得能完美貼合你的嘴唇，讓你獲得最順暢的飲用體驗。”“傳統(tǒng)的塑料杯蓋有一個堅硬的開口，讓人感覺不自然，而Unocup的弧形飲水口則引導你的飲料流進嘴里。”

Because the design is optimized for mass-production using existing cup-making machinery, the company expects the Unocup to "yield significant cost and energy savings in manufacturing, storage, and transportation that would otherwise be spent on plastic lids."

由于該設計是為使用現(xiàn)有的制杯機器進行批量生產而優(yōu)化的，該公司預計Unocup將“在制造、儲存和運輸方面節(jié)省大量成本和能源，否則這些成本和能源將花費在塑料杯蓋上。”

As part of their Kickstarter campaign, the company partnered with NYC artist Alexis Kandra to create unique sustainability themed artwork Unocups. Alexis paints animals in surreal arrangements to raise awareness of the threats they face from human activities. (Photo: collaborative artist: alexis kandra/Unocup)

Speaking with MNN, Chan said local businesses and chains alike have already showed interest in the Unocup.

陳在接受MNN采訪時說，當?shù)仄髽I(yè)和連鎖企業(yè)已經對Unocup表現(xiàn)出了興趣。

"We have considered using the design for water-bottle alternatives, as well as for soups, and plan on producing a reusable version in the future," he added.

他補充說:“我們已經考慮過把這個設計用于瓶裝水的替代品，以及湯，并計劃在未來生產一個可重復使用的版本。”

To have a peek at what's hopefully the future of recyclable coffee cups, jump on over to the company's Kickstarter here.

想要了解可回收咖啡杯的未來，請登錄該公司的Kickstarter網站。