The challenge

The challenge in recycling disposable cups is that they are made up of paper with plastic in the inner lining which is tightly bonded to the paper to help make them both heat and leak-proof. This means the cups cannot be recycled at standard recycling plants, and must instead be taken to one of three specialist recycling facilities in the UK.

With only a small number of specialist plants able to recycle these cups, the logistics of collecting and transporting the cups to these facilities has to date resulted in a small percentage being recycled.

Many coffee chains and other similar types of organisations have introduced recycling collection points for cups within their branches, which is good start and provides a network of recycling collection points; however, most takeaway coffees are consumed elsewhere, such as in offices, universities, leisure centres, transport hubs and other on-the-go locations.