It was in March 2016 that celebrity chef-turned campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall travelled through London in his ‘coffee cup battle bus’ to raise awareness of the 2.5 billion paper cups being thrown away in the UK every year.
The cups were being sold as ‘recyclable’ but hardly any of them were actually recycled – less than 6 million a year, which is less than one day’s worth or under 0.25%, were being recycled at a specialist facility in Cumbria.
Fast-forward to autumn 2024 and everything has changed and yet nothing has. But it is about to. “The UK-wide policy on mandatory takeback [of single-use cups] has been supported by industry bodies as a rational and forward-thinking approach to cup collection and recycling,” explains Neil Whittall, head of sustainability at Huhtamaki Fiber Foodservice EAO.
The scheme, which is set to be introduced under the UK Government’s extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) regulations, would require businesses selling filled disposable fibre-based cups to provide for the separate collection of used cups (either generated in-store or consumed ‘on-the-go’), through both in-store and front of shop collection points. They would also have to arrange for the collection and recycling of the cups. All cups would need to be accepted at collection points, regardless of brand or where the drink had been purchased.
Mandatory takeback, which is expected to come into force next year and has widespread support across the foodservice and hospitality industry, could improve recycling rates from that 0.25% to 39%, according to the government’s impact assessment.
The current number of cups in circulation each year in the UK is thought to be 3.2 billion, according to research conducted for Wrap, a charity, by Valpak. These are often referred to as single-use ‘paper’ cups, however most are made from virgin fibre (95%) together with thin liner of polyethylene (PE) plastic (5%). The liner is crucial, serving as a moisture barrier, but this makes recycling trickier as the two materials must be separated.
Recycling of these paper-PE-lined cups is practical, possible and profitable, as we will discuss. It is however only one part of the paper-cup problem: capturing and collecting them is arguably the bigger challenge. Of those 3.2 billion placed on the market in 2019, just 2.8% were recycled. Industry figures suggest the rate could be double that but that’s still potentially 33,300 tonnes of valuable material (fibre) that ends up burned (in incinerators) or buried (in landfill).
Voluntary industry action, which has resulted in 6,300 collection points being installed across the UK, has not had the impact many hoped. So, can a mandatory takeback scheme make a difference, and what is needed to make it a success? This report looks to unpick these questions, and more. Through a combination of desk research and detailed interviews with industry and policy experts, NGOs and consultants, this report explores:
- Cup recycling today: why it’s important and what are the challenges
- Mandatory takeback: the complexities of capturing and collecting cups (practicalities, costs, regulations and customer convenience/preference)
- Preparing for regulation: mandatory takeback is not the only approach governments are looking at
- Convincing consumers: learnings from trials and how innovation can help
- Up the hierarchy: how to reduce consumption of single-use cups
