Paper cup scourge

THE roadside disposal of paper coffee cups has become an epidemic across the country.

They have become so common that it is nearly impossible to go anywhere without walking on top of one.

It is especially noticeable that clusters of paper coffee cups are appearing outside of places of employment where vending machines are present and then illegally dumped by throwing them out the window of a car on the way home after work.

When the paper in the cup eventually breaks down, it leaves a pulp mess that is dirty and very conducive to rodent infestation and nesting.

The plastic cap or the straw attached to the cup don’t degrade and are there for years — all for the sake of disposing of the cup in a bin or taking it home. The reputation of the dirty Irish is well earned.

Maurice Fitzgerald

Shanbally

Co Cork