Sustainable Sips
No doubt about it, I have my vices. Addiction to coffee seems to be genetic in my family, and so, really, there isn’t anything I can do about it other than try to drink responsibly. Aside from buying organic and fair trade coffee, what you drink out of is as important as what you drink.
I was very excited to see the new Sustain recycled and recyclable mugs from Aladdin. Made from eCycle, a new food-grade safe plastic that is recycled, it can also be dropped in any recycling bin at the end of it’s life cycle. At $9.99, I consider it a bargain, especially when the coffee itself is $5.00. 
The real benefit is that by using this eCycle technology to make their tumblers, the company is: using 2/3 of the energy they would if they made the same product from “virgin” plastics; saving oil (which we should all be thankful for since one ton of recycled plastic saves 685 gallons of oil according to the EPA), and they are helping “close the loop” by using something that is not only recycled but can be reused again. It almost sounds redundant.
This is an example that warrants re-purposing and recycling for other products.
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While it is good to hear that the plastic industry is finally getting onboard with “safe plastics” I am afraid they have pretty much lost my trust with their insistent stance that #7 plastic is safe in light of evidence to the contrary. I use a stainless steel drinking cup and feel safer about that than I do plastics these days.