Paper cup recycling service to launch in August
Waste management firms Closed Loop Environmental Solutions (parent company of Dagenham-based plastic reprocessor Closed Loop Recycling) and Simply Waste Solutions have announced that they are to launch a new paper cup recycling scheme in the UK on 1 August.
The service, called Simply Cups,will provide paper cup manufacturers, organisations operating in the supply chain as well as beverage and hospitality outlets with a collection and recycling service to recover the paper and plastic used in the production of the disposable drinking containers.
Historically, the recycling of the 2.5 billion paper cups used in the UK every year has not been viable, as separating the polyethylene lining from the cardboard content was time consuming and uneconomical. However, the partnership behind Simply Cups has said that the technology is now available to make the process ‘attractive for any business that uses paper cups as well as recyclers themselves’.
Service is ‘game-changing for cup manufacturers and beverage outlets’
Some of the cups collected will be sent to the ‘UK’s only dedicated beverage carton recycling plant’, run by the Alliance for Beverage Cartons & the Environment (ACE UK) and paper and packaging producer Sonoco Alcore, with the remainder sent to paper recycling company James Cropper, which last year opened the ‘world’s first’ recycling facility dedicated to the recycling of disposable coffee cups.
Speaking of the scheme, Peter Goodwin, Director of Closed Loop, commented: “For too long paper cup recycling has literally been in its cups. Our new service will provide any business, operating within the hospitality and beverage supply chain, with a cup collection and recycling service that will in fact help reduce their overall waste disposal costs. This will be game-changing for cup manufacturers and beverage outlets that are have been caught in the media spotlight due to the absence of any recycling solutions.”
James Capel, Managing Director of Simply Waste Solutions, added: “The bulk collection of cups will be processed here in the UK, and once the materials are recovered they will be manufactured into new end-use products all within the UK, which is a perfect example of how recycling should work.”
Simply Cups will initially operate within the M25 and Thames Valley area, but is expected to expand into a nationwide service in future.
Simply Cups is a membership-based programme. For more information or to participate in the programme email Peter Goodwin at Closed Loop.
(L-R): Director of Closed Loop Environmental Solutions Peter Goodwin with James Capel, Managing Director of Simply Waste Solutions.