Pro-ID

We can't believe the Betacup contest is almost over, but it's true: there are only 12 days left for submissions. Hurry and get yours in before voting and rating gets going in full swing. Remember, the stakes are high with $20,000 in total prize money. Register now to submit, browse, and rate ideas.

For now, a few more highlights to get you thinking.

Many commenters in the Jovoto forums have pointed out that instead of redesigning the coffee cup, getting people to drink their coffee to stay would have the most impact. The problem then becomes how to encourage that behaviour in an American Grab and Go culture. Voto tackles this with Coffee To Stay, the beginnings of a media campaign that encourages consumers to think about the environmental impact of "To Go," using the persuasive power of "charismatic megafauna."

HoorayforDan proposes a collapsible cup, addressing the distribution and branding value of the cup more than its mechanics, The flat-folding cup could double as a coupon, saving the consumer 5-10% on coffee drinks. A one-time campaign with magazines and newspapers could help distribute these cups to the public, kicking off the new initiative. The designer has also reconfigured the cup's corm, making it better for the office. It has a flat back, so it can be kept against a wall of a cubicle, and is bottom-heavy instead of top-heavy, making it much more difficult to tip over.

Finally, though this idea could use some significant development in the next 12 days, Orenofhowick cuts to the chase and addresses one root of the problem: the polyethylene coating that makes paper coffee cups unrecyclable in the first place. Why not use compostable bio-plastic film instead? In addition to staying inside the biological cycle, this coating could be sprayed into a number of different paper vessels, making them coffee-ready. Orenofhowick also proposes that this liner could be successfully used with other entries in the contest, like the Blow-Up Cupand the Edible Cup.

Core77