星巴克、麦当劳们的杯子比赛

麦当劳和星巴克两个餐饮巨头近年来一直在很积极地涉足环保事业。

 

这其中有一个很重要的版块就是一次性杯子了，这些餐厅每天都要用掉天文数字的杯子，而这些杯子的回收是一个很麻烦的问题。

 

目前他们正在通过一场大规模的创新比赛来鼓励新型的环保杯子的诞生。

 

 

McDonald’s and Starbucks. Yum brands. Nestlé. Coca-Cola. Wendy’s.

麦当劳和星巴克、百胜餐饮集团、雀巢、可口可乐、温迪。

 

They’re some of the most powerful food and beverage companies in the world, and they’re all throwing their weight behind a collective effort to tackle a big problem: the 250 billion fiber cups that pile up in landfills each year, most of which will need 1,000 years to biodegrade since they’re actually coated in a micro layer of polyethylene.

他们是世界上最强大的食品和饮料公司，都在共同努力解决一个大问题：每年有2500亿个纤维纸杯被送到垃圾填埋场，其中大部分需要1000年才能生物降解，因为它们实际上覆盖了一层聚乙烯微型膜。

 

The goal? To create the ultimate disposable paper cup - one that can both be composted and recycled, anywhere in the world.

他们的目标？创造出一种终极的方便纸杯——既可以回收也可以做成堆肥，而且可以在世界上的任何地方这么干。

 

We covered the project, called the Next Gen Cup Challenge, when it was announced last July.

去年7月，当这个名为“下一代杯挑战赛”的项目宣告启动的时候，我们报道过它。

 

These winners will share a $1 million grant and enter a virtual accelerator, working with factories and industry partners to both test and mass-produce their cups. Then, they’ll begin real-world beta testing in September. There may be one winner, but it’s quite likely that a few of these finalist companies will combine their technologies to produce one final cup.

这些获奖者将分享100万美元的奖金，并进入一个虚拟加速器，与工厂和行业合作伙伴一起测试和批量生产他们的杯子。然后，他们将在今年9月开始实际的beta测试。也许会有一个赢家，但很有可能这些进入决赛的公司中，有几个会把他们的技术结合起来，生产出一个决赛杯。

 

All of the shortlisted technologies take one of three basic approaches.

所有入围的技术都采用三种基本方法中的一种。

 

 

 

A few propose replacements to the aforementioned polyethylene liner in paper cups. While polyethylene keeps paper waterproof, insulates a drink to keep it hot or cold, and can prevent sweaty condensation from building outside the cup, it’s also the primary component that keeps most paper cups from being recycled or composted.

第一批人建议更换掉上述纸杯里的聚乙烯内衬。聚乙烯可以防水、隔热、保温，还可以防止水珠凝结在杯子外面，但它也是防止大多数纸杯被回收或制成肥料的主要成分。

 

A second group of finalists proposes radical new paper composites that need no liner at all, allowing them to biodegrade or be recycled easily.

第二类的决赛者提出了根本不需要衬垫的新型纸复合材料，这让它们能被生物降解或者轻松回收。

 

And a third category proposes another direction entirely: reusable cups that can be collected after being used, through either a subscription or scout’s honor system at your local Starbucks.

第三类则完全提出了另一个方向：可重复使用的杯子，在使用后可以通过订阅会员的体系或当地星巴克的童子军荣誉系统来收集。

 

Over the next few months the finalists will find out if their cups can be made by the traditional cup supply chain, by working directly with factories that partner with companies like McDonald’s to produce their current cups.

在接下来的几个月里，决赛者们将会直接与那些为麦当劳等公司生产杯子的工厂合作，来看他们设计的杯子是否可以通过传统的杯子供应链来制作。

 

For now, developing the perfect paper cup is a daunting task unto itself. Assuming the Next Gen Cup winners can figure out how to attain proper performance, source the right materials, produce cups at scale, and make it all recyclable, the final big question facing the challenge - and the companies behind it - will simply be, do consumers actually like using the new cup?

目前，开发完美的纸杯本身就是一项艰巨的任务。假设“下一代杯挑战赛”的优胜者能够弄清楚如何获得合适的性能，找到合适的材料，大规模生产杯子，并使其完全可回收，那么面临挑战的最后一个大问题——以及背后的公司——将仅仅是，消费者真的喜欢使用新杯子吗？