London scheme aims to recycle five million coffee cups annually 
The City of London Corporation, working with Network Rail, businesses and coffee shop chains, has launched a scheme to prevent five million disposable cups a year being sent to landfill from the Square Mile. Recycling facilities specifically for the cups will be introduced on streets and in offices and stores. The first 30 firms employing over 500 staff committing to the challenge will receive a year’s free membership of collection service Simply Cups. The UK sees up to seven million coffee cups discarded every day. The plastic lining means that under 1% of such cups, or 1 in 400, are recycled. 

A scheme to boost disposable coffee cup recycling has been launched in the City of London in an attempt to prevent 5m cups a year from the Square Mile ending up in landfill.

The City of London Corporation, in conjunction with Network Rail, coffee chains and some employers, are introducing dedicated coffee cup recycling facilities in offices, shops and streets.

Wendy Mead, chair of the corporation’s environment committee, said the aim of the Square Mile challenge was to recycle half a million cups in April, adding that the City “will be the first area in the UK to undertake such a significant commitment” to recycling.

Every day in the UK, up to 7m coffee cups are thrown away, with less than 1% of these cups (only 1 in 400 coffee cups) thought to be recycled. The main challenge to date has been the plastic film lining the paper cups, which means they are rarely recyclable.

Previous cup recycling schemes have been conducted on a much smaller scale. Gavin Ellis, co-founder of environmental charity Hubbub, said the scheme built on a much smaller pilot in Manchester, where 20,000 cups had been recycled from one street over three months: “We hope to reach a point where recycling levels for coffee cups are on a par with those for drinks cans and bottles.”



The first 30 businesses with more than 500 employees to sign up to the Square Mile challenge will receive a year’s free membership to collection services provided by Simply Cups, while all other businesses involved can access discounted rates for collections. The coffee cups collected can be remade into a range of items, from pencils to park benches, which will be donated to local community projects and schools. Insurance broker Lloyd’s has signed up.

Simply Cups is currently working with Costa, Pret a Manger and McDonald’s, collecting cups from a few of their stores on a trial basis. Last month, Costa announced it was expanding its coffee cup recycling trial scheme, collecting used cups in its 2,000 stores, which are picked up by waste management company Veolia to be recycled in a specialist plant. Meanwhile, Starbucks is trialling a fully recyclable coffee cup – the Frugalpac – which could eventually divert huge numbers of cups away from landfill.



Ministers have rejected campaigners’ calls for a charge on the 2.5bn disposable coffee cups thrown away each year because they believe coffee shop chains are already taking enough action to cut down waste. Environment minister Thérèse Coffey told the Liberal Democrats, who have urged the government to impose a 5p charge similar to that levied on plastic bags, that industry and chains were already doing enough voluntarily.

Peter Goodwin, director of Simply Cups, said: “It’s fantastic that big businesses are supporting the Square Mile challenge. Large numbers of coffee cups are binned in offices as people arrive at work or pop out for coffees throughout the day. We’d like to see responsible disposal of these become as commonplace as paper recycling schemes in offices and we hope that seeing the products that can be produced from their recycled cups will help motivate city workers to support the recycling effort.”

Can coffee cups be recycled?

Yes, but not with standard household recycling or paper recycling. Confusingly the cardboard sleeve that insulates your coffee cups and stops your hand getting burned can be recycled, and as the cardboard sleeve provided with your coffee cup often shows the recycling symbol it looks as though the coffee cup can be recycled too, but this is not the case.

Why can’t they be treated as cardboard?

Because the cups are made from both paper and a plastic film that ensures the cup is waterproof. Standard recycling processes can’t separate these materials.

How can they be recycled, then?

There are two different recycling processes that can work with coffee cups, and although currently small in scale they’re working to increase their capacity at the moment. The first shreds the whole coffee cup, processing it into a resin. This resin is mixed with recycled plastic to create a new plastic material which can be manufactured into a range of new products, from pens to park benches. The second pulps the coffee cup and separates out the paper and plastic. The recovered paper fibres are then used to make tubes and cores for products such as gravy granules.

How can I recycle my coffee cups?

Coffee shops are beginning to introduce dedicated recycling schemes within their stores, with Costa and McDonalds already offering this and others set to follow suit. Ask the coffee shop where you buy coffee what they can offer, as consumer pressure will drive uptake of recycling services by retailers.

Do I have to use a paper cup?

No. You could switch to a reusable cup. Many retailers offer a discount for bringing in your own cup so you can save money with this approach, too.



