A Coffee Cup Tower to the Moon.

Americans alone use an estimated 50 billion paper coffee cups each year – a staggering figure when you consider how fleeting each cup’s use is.

To visualize this:   If you stacked all 50 billion cups, one on top of the other (each about 4 inches tall), the tower would reach nearly 3.2 million miles high – more than 13 times the distance to the Moon.  Now picture laying them end to end, lip to rim. With each cup roughly 3.5 inches in diameter, the chain would stretch over 138,000 miles – enough to wrap around the Earth’s equator more than 5.5 times.  And that's just one year's worth.

Given the sheer volume, finding ways to reuse even a fraction of your Anthora paper cups can make a meaningful difference. Whether repurposed for art projects, seed starters, or storage containers, giving each cup a second life helps reduce landfill waste and encourages a more mindful, sustainable coffee habit.

Dedicated to preserving the legacy of the iconic Anthora coffee cup – a true symbol of New York City’s street culture, corner delis, and daily rituals – NY Coffee Cup celebrates its enduring design, cultural significance, and place in coffee history, both in NYC and beyond.