Using Recycled Paper For Paper Cups Versus Composting PLA-Lined Virgin Pulp Cups: Trees farmed for paper-use typically take 8–15 years to grow. Using less trees for a single use product such as a paper cup allows wood to be used for greater purposes such as printing books and note paper for schools.  Compostable moducup using PLA derived from vegetable crops increases the cost of food as fewer of these crops are available to eat. It cannot be documented how many compostable cups actually get composted compared to ending up in a landfill.  Sustain-A-Cup®, by using 25%recycled paper reduces the amount of trees used for single-use paper cups in the production phase. This uses less natural resources each time our cups are used, compared to compostable virgin paper cups.Benefits of trees as noted by the Environmental Protection Agency: • Root system filters and purifies underground water. • In summertime, generally 10–30% of sunlight reaches the ground with the majority being absorbed by the leaves.  Trees that provide shading lower the peak temperature and demand for air conditioning. • In wintertime, trees provide protection from the wind, lowering demand for heating homes and buildings. • Trees, through a process called "dry deposition," filter toxins from the air and convert it to oxygen, lowering overall greenhouse gasses.