Organisations from across the paper cup supply chain have signed an agreement with the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE UK) to accelerate UK recycling of PE lined paper cups. The cross-industry collaboration will work towards delivering a long-term, nationwide paper cup recycling solution which complements and builds on the recycling activities achieved so far by the paper cup industry.

​Bring banks will accept cups along with cartons.

• From 1st January 2018 all ACE UK bring banks will accept paper cups for recycling, delivering an additional 382 recycling points located in 97 local authorities across the UK. With a further 33 recycling points across an additional eight local authorities scheduled during the next phase.
• Cups from these recycling points will be processed at ACE UK’s recycling facility in Halifax.
• Drawing on its experience and existing relationships with local authorities, waste management organisations and recycling bodies, ACE UK will work to include cups in local authority kerbside collections. Currently 66% of local authorities collect beverage cartons at kerbside, in addition to those which collect through bring banks, and it is hoped to achieve similar levels of coverage for cups.

​Neil Whittall; “This agreement with ACE UK represents a significant advance in UK recycling infrastructure for paper cups. It will also help us accelerate progress towards the PCRRG’s objective of ensuring the majority of the UK population have access to information, schemes and facilities to allow them to recycle their paper cup, as set out in our Paper Cup Manifesto.”

Editorial contacts are Felicity Read on 01242 282000 felicity@Leapfrogpr.com or: Kirsten Doddy +447766 734314 on Kirsten.doddy@anthesisgroup.com.

Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper on global markets. Their customers include publishers, retailers, brand owners, print and board producers, printing houses, merchants, converters, joineries and construction companies.

Their aim is to replace fossil based materials by innovating and developing new products and services based on wood and other renewable materials. They believe that everything made with fossil fuels today can be made from a tree tomorrow and their focus is on fibre-based packaging, plantation-based pulp, innovation in biomaterials, and sustainable building solutions.
In terms of paper cup recycling, Stora Enso sponsored the 2017 Nordic Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. In doing so, they collaborated with the event organisers and provided specific bins to collect the hundreds of thousands of paper cups and plates from the event. The cups from the event were made from sustainably sourced materials by packaging specialist Huhtamaki. After the event, the cups were collected, bailed and sent to a recycling plant where the paper fibres were separated from the plastic and remade into paper and cardboard boxes.

The press release for this event can be seen here and a video of the recycling process created by Stora Enso can be seen below.
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Editorial contacts are Felicity Read on 01242 282000 felicity@Leapfrogpr.com or: Kirsten Doddy +44 (0) 7766 734314 on Kirsten.doddy@anthesisgroup.com.

Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) is an environmental charity committed to making Scotland clean, green and sustainable. They achieve this by tackling a wide range of environmental issues, including reducing the amount of litter on the streets to cutting carbon emissions. They draw together government, local authorities, businesses, community groups and individuals in this challenge.

‘Clean Up Scotland’ is Keep Scotland Beautiful’s national campaign to help build community pride and to make Scotland the cleanest country in Europe by 2020.   The campaign supports people to clean up litter and drive behaviour change.

One of the most visible and most prevalent litter items are single use drinks containers, which are widely used by fast food establishments and coffee shops within the UK.  Along with other litter types, Keep Scotland Beautiful is working on a variety of initiatives to raise awareness of, and tackle the littering of single use cups and drinks containers.

These include initiatives which will:

• bring focus to our throw away culture,
• challenge consumer behaviour,
• challenge producer and retailer roles and responsibilities,
• engage with the current debate surrounding issues of disposable packaging,
• lead the way in trailing innovative and sustainable solutions to promote informed consumer behaviour.

These initiatives will be completed in partnership with other single use cup related companies and organisations. These partnerships include:

Simply Cups / Recoup
This first initiative took place on the 24th/25th October 2017 at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Glasgow.  An exhibition, called #SipDontTip, highlighted the issue of litter and waste associated with single use beverage containers. The exhibit included a huge sculpture made entirely of coffee cups, meant to highlight the 208 million used every year in Scotland. The event also involved exhibits made by school pupils who engaged with the topic. Simply Cups and RECOUP provided installations to showcase the recycling journey of both single use cups and plastic bottles.

Simply Cups
This project, working with Glasgow City Council, will trial a coffee cup recycling collection service from a range of business premises in Glasgow’s ‘Golden Z’, in the city centre. It will be similar to that trialled by Simply Cups and Hubbub in London (Square Mile Challenge). This project is planned for early 2018.
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RECOUP
A joint proposal, aiming to promote plastic packaging recycling, particularly focused on single use beverage containers, is being developed for Spring 2018.  An ambitious two-year project, it will incorporate public engagement and empowerment through citizen science, a travelling plastic sculpture and education opportunities for students and teachers.
 
Paper Cup Recycling & Recovery Group (PCRRG)
This audit will help to develop a more comprehensive set of data for single use cups that are in litter bins around Glasgow. By intensively assessing the cups within bins in Glasgow city centre, Keep Scotland Beautiful has captured data on materials, brands and trends.  A report is due for completion in early 2018.

Editorial contacts are Felicity Read on 01242 282000 felicity@Leapfrogpr.com or: Kirsten Doddy +44 (0) 7766 734314 on Kirsten.doddy@anthesisgroup.com.