A scheme that would have forced foodservice businesses to take back single-use coffee cups and recycle them has been dropped by the government.
The mandatory takeback policy, originally planned for introduction through new extended producer responsibility for packaging regulations, would have helped lift the recycling rate of fibre-based cups to almost 40%, according to the previous UK Government’s impact assessment. The scheme also enjoyed widespread support from businesses, including many of the country’s largest coffee shop chains.
However, the Labour government was not convinced, and Defra officials announced cancellation of the scheme during an engagement forum for the waste and resources sector this week.
In a statement sent to Footprint, a spokesperson for the department said: “Analysis has shown the mandatory takeback scheme for cups proposed by the previous government would not have the intended impact on boosting recycling rates and reducing litter. It would cost £52m to the government and industry, placing unnecessary burdens on business.”
Defra said the decision to drop the scheme had been made across all four of the home nations, with industry feedback on the operability of the policy and a review of the cost-benefit analysis revealing several challenges – including high costs, lower environmental and economic benefits than expected and a limited increase in recycling rates (by just seven percentage points over the next decade) and a 2% reduction in littering. The previous government’s impact assessment showed the scheme could potentially increase recycling rates to 39%.
“This decision [to cancel the takeback scheme] will allow businesses to focus on implementing our other collection and packaging reforms, which will support 21,000 jobs and stimulate more than £10bn of investment in recycling capability during the next decade,” Defra’s spokesperson added.
Voluntary approaches have had limited success. The cups have been notoriously difficult to collect and capture, with recycling rates thought to be somewhere between 3% and 6%. Some 3.2 billion of the cups are used in the UK every year (though some NGOs believe the figure could be double that).
The proposed mandatory cup takeback scheme would have obligated businesses that supply drinks in fibre-based composite cups filled at the point of supply, and who employ at least 10 full-time staff members to supply a bin on their premises to collect used cups; make arrangements for recycling; and report the weight of cups sold and collected to the regulator.
There are already thousands of collection points in place across the UK for the cups, but many felt a mandatory scheme was needed to drive change, level the playing field and engage consumers in recycling of the cups.
Provided they are fibre-based with a PE plastic liner, the cups can easily be recycled. In fact, they have now become one of the highest valued fibre materials on the market due to the voluntary National Cup Recycling Scheme.
A mandatory cup takeback scheme could improve separate collections, increase volumes, reduce contamination and cut carbon emissions further, according to a report published by Footprint Intelligence and Valpak by Reconomy in November.
Mandatory takeback will provide a “solid footing” for collection of cups and “give confidence to collectors that there is a market for their service”, said Huhtamaki’s Neil Whittall. “This can only support recycling rates,” he added.
Waste minister Mary Creagh is currently reviewing waste policy as she looks to publish a new circular economy strategy. As chair of the environmental audit committee of MPs, Creagh became a keen supporter of a so-called latte levy – adding a charge to single-use cups in order to drive reuse behaviour among consumers. Scotland is currently consulting on such a charge.
More details and industry reaction to this story will be available on Monday in the Footprint bulletin.
Download Footprint Intelligence’s Report “The 3.2 Billion Cup Challenge: making the most of the mandatory take back scheme in foodservice settings” in association with Valpak and Reconomy HERE
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