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Friday, 09 November 2018 07:31

Largest coffee cup recycler and packaging manufacture

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James Cropper CEO Phil Wild comments: “It’s encouraging to see the Government seek to work closely with industry to progress the development of a sustainable infrastructure around recycling. 

"Significant strides have been made in the supply chain already. This can only improve as more plastic-free packaging solutions are made available and the infrastructure for waste materials works to keep recyclable materials in the value chain.  

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“We have shown that there are credible plastic-free packaging alternatives through our COLOURFORM innovation, which is renewable, recyclable and biodegradable. It was inspired by the principles of a circular economy – one where packaging leaves no trace. 

“Partnerships between brands, recycling facilities, waste management companies and government are key in building on the great work that is already being done in establishing best practice for ‘on-the-go’ recycling.  

“We hope that the decision from the Chancellor will put fire in the bellies of UK businesses to accelerate plans to seek plastic-free packaging alternatives.”

Specifically on the latte levy, Phil says: “While the levy would have been a welcome positive step towards tackling the issues surrounding disposable coffee cups, it wasn’t the only solution. More needs to be done to build an effective infrastructure, not just for cups, but other waste materials, to facilitate effective recycling and keep recyclable materials in the value chain."

Some fast facts: 

  • James Cropper's CupCycling plant is the world’s first process dedicated to upcycling disposable coffee cups. This valuable waste stream is turned instead into beautiful papers and consumer packaging. The process involves removing the tricky polyethylene coating that makes take-away cups waterproof, while preserving the precious paper fibres. 
  • James Cropper's CupCycling facility has recycled 24 million cups since September 2017 alone - one positive step in reducing the 2.5 billion takeaway cups currently being thrown away in the UK every year. But the real area of interest is the potential to do more; the facility has the capacity to upcycle 500 million each year. 
  • Their latest innovation COLOURFORM (visited by The Prince of Wales this year), takes CupCycling one step further by using the paper fibre from used coffee cups, the process creates 100% plastic-free packaging solutions for businesses. The packaging is already being used by several household brands.
  • Companies that work with James Cropper to create a circular economy for their packaging include coffee shops (Costa), waste management partners (Veolia) and brands (Lush, Selfridges).  
  • There’s also a huge amount of work being done to make recycling consistent and easy to do. For example, Leeds is currently trialling an ‘On the Go’ scheme led by Hubbub which ensures people are never more than five minutes away from a recycling station. There’s over 30 cup recycling stations in Leeds City Centre alone, which include Caffè Nero, Costa, McDonald's, Pret a Manger and Starbucks. It’s an amazing example of how collective pledges can bring about real change in cities
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