Simply Cups, the UK’s only workable cup recycling scheme, has entered into a relationship with Smart Planet Technologies (SPT) to recover and recycle the ground-breaking ‘reCUP’ hot beverage paper cup that can be recycled at traditional paper mills.
The reCUP looks and performs exactly the same as those cups currently in use at UK coffee outlets. However the inside coating is blended with minerals, so its plastic content is reduced by up to 50%, meaning that it is compatible with the existing recycling equipment used at UK paper mills. This will provide consumers, businesses and the hospitality industry with a cup that can be more widely recycled. The cup is expected to be sold through 4 Aces in the UK at a cost comparable with traditional paper cups.
“The first step in resolving the lack of paper cup recycling is to give the recycling industry a paper cup worth recycling,” says Will Lorenzi, president of Smart Planet Technologies. “Once the coating is no longer an obstacle to recycling, a paper cup becomes a valuable material to recycle.”
When the reCUP is sold in the UK, membership to the Simply Cups scheme will provide a dedicated collection service for the cup – either by bag or by bale – which will then be routed to paper mills that have approved the product for acceptance under the same criteria, and value, as other paper products.
