Water Fact Sheet: Paper Coffee Cup | Everyday Goods Water Facts

5.28

gallons of water per item, global average

One item: one disposable paper cup (about 0.4 oz)

The same volume as

About this figure A disposable paper coffee cup of about 0.4 ounces embeds about 5 gallons. Estimated from the WFN paper figure of about 240 gallons per pound. Source: Water Footprint Network (Mekonnen and Hoekstra), per-item estimate. Figures are global-average total water footprints (green, blue and grey water) per item. They are not California-specific and are on a different basis from the crop sheets, which show California irrigation water applied per serving.

Sources

Global-average water footprints per item: Water Footprint Network (Mekonnen and Hoekstra) for cotton, leather and paper goods, applied to typical item mass; item-specific life-cycle assessments for the smartphone, silicon wafer, desktop computer, car, disposable diaper and bottled water, as named on each sheet.

Figures as of September 10, 2026.

How to cite

Everyday Goods Water Fact Sheet: Paper Coffee Cup. conciseVerbosity, September 10, 2026. https://api.conciseverbosity.com/water-facts/goods/paper-coffee-cup.html