Currently, as much as 2.5 billion cups are disposed of in the UK every year, with less than 1% recycled, according to a 2018 Environmental Audit Committee report.
Coffee cups can’t be recycled in most places and require special recycling facilities because they contain a plastic lining to keep the coffee in the cup without it breaking down. So it may look like card or paper, but that plastic lining really does make all the difference.
Now, the UK has decided to take action, coffee cup recycling points are to be introduced across the south of England at train stations, schools, and hospitals. These recycling bins will prevent billions of cups ending up in a landfill.
After an initial trial, the scheme will be established across 17 sites in the southeast, with a target of 10,000 customers and recycling 200,000 coffee cups per year.
Who Is Involved?
A partnership between a self serve coffee and convenience food retailer called Selecta UK, and an environmental solutions company called Veolia. Together, they will organize for recycling boxes to be installed into workplaces and on-the-go machines.
What Is The Process?
First, Veolia will collect the boxes from the sites and then take the cups to their facility in Essex. Once they are in the facility, the cups are broken down into a pulp. The pulp is then transformed into new products, including internal and outer packaging for perfumes and colognes, as well as shopping bags and luxurious notepads.
“Recycling coffee cups is not a simple process due to separation of ‘rogue items’ before they can be pulped,” explained Richard Kirkman, chief technology and innovation officer for Veolia. This scheme will ensure coffee cups are treated in a special process which retains the high-value fibers and puts them back into high-quality paper products,” he added.
Kirkman said:
The existing recycling infrastructure is not designed for coffee cups as they don’t arise in the home in sufficient quantities.
If the UK alone will be able to recycle 200,000 cups of coffee every year at just 17 sites, imagine how many cups could be recycled around the world if other countries also decided to install coffee cup recycling bins.
To help reduce coffee cup waste you can bring your own cup with you. Most coffee shops allow you to use your own cup or flask and it’s the lowest waste option to continue buying coffee in coffee shops.
