1 minute read
The issue
from How to start cup recycling
by HUBBUB
8 million cups are thrown away every day in the UK – only 4% are recycled.
It’s well known that the UK is a country that loves a cup of tea, but increasingly we’ve become keen coffee drinkers too. The other change in our society is that we’re drinking more tea and coffee when we’re out and about – which results in a lot of disposable cups being used.
Coffee cups currently can’t be recycled in most mixed recycling bins as they’re made mixed-materials - paper with a plastic lining to make the cup waterproof.
The good news is if the cups are collected separately, they can be recycled. There are three plants in the UK that specialise in doing just that, and they have lots of capacity to recycle cups – Ace UK in West Yorkshire, DS Smith in Kent and James Cropper in Cumbria.
What’s missing is network of recycling bins to collect them and get them to the recycling plants – that’s where you come in!
Coffee cups of any size
