So, what's this about coffee cup recycling? To bring you up to date with recent events on Coffee Cup Recycling, we need to turn back the clock to 2008. In 2008, Starbucks declared that it would go over to a 100% recyclable paper cup in all its stores, and increase re-use to 25% by 2015. After 10 years, it has failed to do either of these promises. Now there are moves afoot from the public to put pressure on Starbucks to live up to its promises.
One UK recycling company now reckons it has the answer. Read-on for the article about this, and for more background information on this topic we have also included below the article, several other snippets which will bring you fully up to date on the so-called Coffee Cup Recycling Challenge currently up for grabs.
Has DS Smith Cracked The Coffee Cup Recycling Challenge?
Following months of in-depth research, UK-based packaging and paper company, DS Smith, has found a solution to the coffee cup recycling challenge, it says.
Using its state-of-the-art paper mill in Kent, the company believes it could recycle up to the 2.5bn cups discarded by British coffee lovers each year.
Commenting on the announcement, Peter Clayson, General Manager for DS Smith Recycling, said:
“We have been working around the clock to solve the throw-away coffee cup challenge, as enjoying a latte has become part of British culture. We could recycle up to two and a half billion cups each year, but we need the recycling collection infrastructure to be far better if we are to reach the goal of recycling every last cup.”
“There are two challenges to recycling a high volume of coffee cups. Firstly, there is the plastic lining that must be removed from the cups, then we need to ensure that the cups have not been too badly soiled by food waste.”
“There are two challenges to recycling a high volume of coffee cups. Firstly, there is the plastic lining that must be removed from the cups, then we need to ensure that the cups have not been too badly soiled by food waste.
“If we can work together with local councils, coffee sellers, and the waste management sector to improve segregation of the cups and develop a comprehensive collection infrastructure, we can make a huge difference together.”
Every day in the UK, one in five of us visit a coffee shop. Every year, 2.5bn single-use cups are thrown away – enough to reach around the world more than five times. Currently, we only recycle one in every 400, while just 1% of consumers bring their own reusable cups.
DS Smith has written to government to call for measures to support better cup collection and provided details of its coffee cup recycling capacity to the PCRRG (Paper Cup Recycling and Recovery Group) of which it is a member, as this new development radically improves the UK’s ability to reprocess its used coffee cups.
The post Has DS Smith Cracked The Coffee Cup Challenge? appeared first on CIWM Journal Online.
Starbucks Just Promised $10 Million to Invent a Fully Recyclable Coffee Cup
Never make a promise you don’t intend to keep!
Otherwise you might get almost a million people knocking on your door. At least, that’s what happened with Starbucks this week — and now the coffee chain has responded.
Take Action: Tweet Starbucks Asking Them to Donate 100% of Unused Food to Charity in the UK
Ten years ago, Starbucks pledged to develop a recyclable coffee cup, and to increase the use of reusable cups to 25% by 2015.This hasn’t happened yet — and nearly a million people have now signed a petition calling on them to honour it. Almost 15,000 people contacted Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson directly, demanding that all coffee cups be made 100% recyclable.
In 2008, @Starbucks said it would serve a 100% recyclable paper cup and increase reusables to 25% by 2015. To date, it hasn't done either. It's time for Starbucks to live up to its promises: https://t.co/mihTM1EyBf#EndOceanPlastics#UseLess#Wastepic.twitter.com/5koUprNKqB— Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema) March 18, 2018
Campaigners even turned up at Starbucks’ annual shareholder meeting in Seattle on Wednesday to protest the delayed response — bringing with them a giant “cup monster” built from 500 reused coffee cups to stare down the company with bloodshot eyes. The movement is led by a coalition of environmental organisations called Break Free From Plastic.“We throw away 2.5 billion coffee cups each year in the UK, at great cost to the environment and the taxpayer,” said Sondhya Gupta, a senior campaigner from global advocacy group SumOfUs which is leading the campaign with US-based environmental organisation Stand.earth. “Starbucks cups are pollution, and people have had enough of the broken promises.” via Starbucks$10 MillionforInvention
West End rolls out mobile coffee cup recycling points
Westminster street sweepers will become mobile coffee cup recycling points in a new scheme aimed at driving resource efficiency in the capital.
Londoners are being encouraged to make use of the recycling points, with street sweepers providing a reusable cup giveaway for the first person to bring them an empty disposable cup during the first week of the launch.
The Good-to-go project will also see specialist on-street bins placed on busy streets in the West End, around Victoria Station, as well as Piccadilly, St James and Leicester Square.
The trial has been launched by waste management firm Veolia, Westminster City Council and Heart of London Business Alliance. It is hoped the scheme will be eventually rolled out across the city.
via West End rolls out mobile coffee cup recycling points
Selfridges to recycle coffee cups to make shopping bags
Selfridges is the UK’s first retailer to up-cycle its coffee cups and reprocess them into their iconic yellow shopping bags.
Selfridges will repurpose its used cups from its food hall and offices by ‘tipping, flipping and stacking’ them to ensure any remaining liquid is drained. The lid, sleeve and cup will then be separated and further processed, checked for quality and baled by environmental solutions provider Veolia. For the final stage they are delivered to paper manufacturer James Cropper for reprocessing at its innovative CupCycling plant.
Selfridges is the UK’s first retailer to up-cycle its coffee cups and reprocess them into their iconic yellow shopping bags.
Selfridges will repurpose its used cups from its food hall and offices by ‘tipping, flipping and stacking’ them to ensure any remaining liquid is drained. The lid, sleeve and cup will then be separated and further processed, checked for quality and baled by environmental solutions provider Veolia. For the final stage they are delivered to paper manufacturer James Cropper for reprocessing at its innovative CupCycling plant.
How ‘green’ are the new bags?
The up-cycled bags will contain 20 percent cup fibre, the equivalent fo an 8oz cup per large shopping bag.
The bags will display the CupCycling logo and after use will be able to be recycled in the standard paper waste stream.
Chris Brant, director of retail projects and FM at Selfridges, said: “As part of our ‘Buying Better, Inspiring Change’ approach, we are constantly looking for new ways to make our business more efficient. With our partners James Cropper and Veolia, we can take coffee cups, a waste product of ours, and transform them into our yellow kraft bags, thereby closing the loop on that particular waste stream. Not only that, but the bags can still be recycled for years to come.”
“We’re proud to be the first retailer to upcycle our cups in this way. Our customers are becoming ever more aware of global waste issues and I think they will appreciate the story behind the bag.”
Sustainability has been a growing priority for Selfridges and it groups stores, which last year launched its ‘Buying Better’ campaign. By 2021, Selfridges plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 15 percent, while by 2021 the store’s top 30 brands will need to have developed clear sustainability agendas. via Selfridgestorecyclecupstobags
We welcome your comments on the subject of Coffee Cup Recycling, below.
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