Here's the problem
Traditional PE lined cups leave behind plastic.
Forever is a long time for a cup of coffee.
PLA lined cups may sound better, but the lining itself still remains in the soil long after the paper has gone.
That means when these cups end up in landfill, the paper disappears… and the lining stays behind.
Because “compostable-ish” isn’t really the win people think it is.
Rubicon cups are different. No hidden plastic legacy. No ghost lining haunting the planet long after your latte.
Just a cup designed to disappear properly.
Most cups talk a good game about sustainability, whilst ours, quietly vanishes.
Watch the videos below and you’ll see what happens when three different cups are buried in soil for 12 weeks.
One cup disappears completely (that’s ours by the way) and the other two……they leave behind their lining.
We didn’t do anything too fancy, because we wanted to replicate what happens in most landfill environments. This is what we did:
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Buried our Rubicon cup along with competitor versions of PE and PLA lined cups in an empty fishtank and left it at ambient room temperature for 12 weeks.
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We used normal garden soil, nothing fancy.
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We added a sprinkle of water every 2 weeks.
12 weeks later, the results speak for themselves. Click on a video and experience The Disappearing Cup.
This quick timelapse shows the full 12-week breakdown in just 30 seconds. Our Rubicon cup gradually disappears back into the earth, while PE lined and PLA lined cups stubbornly hang around.
You've crossed the Rubicon
Welcome to The Disappearing Cup.
12 Weeks. Real soil. Others are still there. Ours isn't.
The Full Experiment
Want the full story?
Our longer video walks through the entire process of removing the cups from the soil after 12 weeks.
No greenwashing. No clever camera tricks. Just real results.
The Full Experiment
Want the full story?
Our longer video walks through the entire process of removing the cups from the soil after 12 weeks.
No greenwashing. No clever camera tricks. Just real results.