The Clever Way Coffee Drinkers Can Use Their To-Go Cups In The Garden

The desire for more sustainable living is a big factor for anyone trying to get more out of the coffee consumption experience. In addition to the joy of drinking coffee, it's beneficial when you can make the process more eco-friendly. This is why it's become more common to take your own travel mug or cup to a café and to rely on reusable filters when brewing at home.

For those passionate about both gardening and coffee, leftover coffee grounds may improve your gardening soil, compost, or fertilizer. They can also help you grow your lawn and clean your fireplace because of their physical properties and the chemical elements they contain. Still, some types of waste are unavoidable at times, which is why single-use to-go cups have also become part of the upcycling movement. Here's a clever trick on how to turn your next to-go cup into a useful tool and keep it working for you out in the garden.

To produce single-use cups, over 20 million trees need to be cut down each year (via Huskee). These cups used for to-go purposes in the food industry, whether paper or plastic, are typically used once and thrown away because they can't be recycled. However, they can typically be used again for another drink or repurposed around the house in other ways like for storage or creative arts and crafts projects.

For gardeners, these cups can be used to start seeds. Yet another clever way coffee drinkers can use their to-go cups in the garden is as small watering cans. Think about it; the little openings in their lids are the perfect size for gently pouring out water. The cups are also small and easy to carry around or to keep in specific places to water plants. Whether you have a large outdoor garden or a few indoor plants, to-go cups are portable and very convenient watering cans to have around.

After drinking from your to-go cup as you normally would, clean it well in order to get it ready for its new function. Because this type of container fits right in your hand and has a small top opening, you can pour the water as slowly as you need in order to avoid over saturating your plants. You might also want to make dash marks with a permanent market on the outside of the cup to mark precise measurements for particularly sensitive plants.

How about using to-go cups as planters too? Royal Cup Coffee and Tea provides a helpful guide. After cleaning, perforate drainage holes in the bottom of the cup and then turn it back over and fill it with soil. Next, plant your seeds or cuttings. Make sure to keep the makeshift planter on a flat surface that can catch the excess water as it comes out through the holes. From watering cans to planters, single-use to-go cups can be a great DIY tool for your garden!