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Coffee cup recycling
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Disposable coffee cup recycling services
This article explains everything you need to know about disposable coffee cup waste, its environmental impact, and the best practices for minimising and recycling coffee cups. We cover:
- Coffee cup composition
- Proper disposal methods
- Disposable coffee cup waste
- How to minimise coffee cup waste
- What are the environmental impacts of disposable coffee cup waste?
- Transitioning to alternative coffee cups
Coffee cup composition
The key reason disposable coffee cups are limited in recycling is that they contain several different materials that cannot be recycled together.
Coffee cups are designed to be cheap, waterproof, and insulating, which is achieved with layers of the following materials:
Paperboard
The main body of the cup is usually made from paperboard, which provides the cup’s structure and some insulation.
Polyethylene
The paperboard is typically lined with a thin layer of polyethylene, which makes the cup waterproof and able to hold liquids without leaking.
Corrugated cardboard
The sleeve or cup holder providing an insulated hold is typically corrugated cardboard. It is lightweight and an effective insulator, keeping users safe.
Polypropylene
The lid of a disposable coffee cup is typically made from another type of plastic, polypropylene, chosen for its ability to withstand heat, provide a secure fit, and add strength to the cup.
Proper disposal methods
There are two viable options for recycling coffee cups in the UK. In this section, we’ll cover both:
Dedicated coffee cup recycling service
Waste providers now offer dedicated coffee cup recycling services with local collection routes in most UK towns and cities.
With a dedicated coffee cup recycling service, you’ll receive a separate commercial waste bin for coffee cups. After each collection, your coffee cups will be transported to a dedicated facility where the different components of the coffee cups can be separated and individually recycled.
Our waste experts specialise in helping businesses find the best local waste and recycling services. Enter your details at the top of this page to get coffee cup recycling quotes for your business today.
Separating components
In more rural areas or for domestic waste, bespoke coffee cup recycling is typically unavailable.
Despite this, it is still possible to partially recycle your coffee cups. Here’s a step-by-step process:
- Empty and rinse: Ensure the cups are empty and rinsed to avoid contamination with coffee, tea or paper.
- Disassemble cup: Separate the cup into components (cup, holder or sleeve, lid).
- Dispose in separate bins: The coffee sleeve can typically be included in your commercial cardboard recycling, the lid in a dedicated plastic recycling or dry mixed recycling bin, and the remaining materials in general business waste.
Disposable coffee cup waste
In the UK, billions of single-use coffee cups are used annually and disposed of in general waste bins. General waste goes to either landfill or incinerator sites, neither good for the environment.
The low recycling rate is due to the polyethylene coating that makes the cups waterproof, which is very difficult to separate and process in standard recycling facilities.
How to minimise coffee cup waste
The first step of the waste hierarchy and the most effective waste management strategy is to avoid generating waste in the first place.
In this section, we’ll review some of the specific waste minimisation strategies used by UK companies:
Reusable coffee cups
Coffee cup waste can be entirely prevented with reusable, portable coffee mugs, cups, or thermoses. You can either make coffee at home and take it with you or refill your washable cup or flask at coffee shops that allow this.
Customer incentives
Many coffee shops now offer discounts for bringing your coffee cup, thus incentivising customers to refrain from using disposable coffee cups.
Compostable cups
Compostable cups are typically made from renewable resources like paperboard, with a waterproof lining made from bioplastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) derived from plants like corn or sugarcane.
Compostable coffee cups should be disposed of in the commercial food waste bin and transported to a composting or anaerobic digestion facility.
Who produces disposable coffee cups in the UK?
Various companies supply disposable coffee cups to cafes, restaurants, pubs, and other businesses. Some well-known suppliers and manufacturers include:
- Huhtamaki
- Detpak
- Benders Paper Cups
- Dart Products Europe
- CupPrint
- Printed Cup Company
- KeepCup
Composable coffee cup providers
Compostable cups avoid the difficult to recycle composition issues of disposable coffee cups.
Compostable coffee cups are growing in popularity and are produced by the following companies in Britain:
- Vegware: Based in Edinburgh, Vegware is a well-known manufacturer of compostable food service packaging, including coffee cups, lids, and other catering disposables.
- Biopak: Biopak specialises in eco-friendly packaging solutions, offering a range of compostable coffee cups and lids made from renewable materials.
- Ecoffee Cup: While primarily known for their reusable bamboo coffee cups, Ecoffee Cup also offers a range of compostable paper cups for single-use applications.
- Naturepac: Naturepac, based in Cornwall, offers a variety of compostable and recyclable paper cups, including custom-printed options for businesses.
- Green Gate Bio Packaging: This Devon based company provides a wide range of eco-friendly food packaging products, including compostable coffee cups and lids.
💡 Expensive: Given the established supply chains for classic disposable coffee cups, these compostable alternatives are typically 50% more expensive. For instance, 8oz disposable cups by Vegware cost about 15 pence per unit without the lid, compared to traditional disposable cups costing about 0.09 pence.
What are the environmental impacts of disposable coffee cup waste?
The sheer volume of coffee cup waste is the main issue, as plastics or paperboard aren’t particularly toxic or hazardous.
Here are the main environmental impacts of these non-recyclable, single-use coffee cups:
Landfill capacity and methane emissions
Large quantities of these waste types are typically disposed of as general or residual waste, usually taken to landfills when not incinerated. While this product deforms and shrinks to a small size upon compaction, it still occupies a proportion of the limited landfill capacity.
The paperboard in the cups will gradually degrade, like other organic materials such as cardboard or food waste, producing methane when decomposing without oxygen in a landfill. This potent greenhouse gas would be mitigated if this material were recycled instead.
Incineration emissions
The alternative to landfill is incineration or waste-to-energy, where coffee cups are burned to reduce their volume. Paperboard, polypropylene, and polyethylene are carbon-based and contribute to carbon emissions.
If these materials were recycled separately, these emissions would be significantly lower.
Littering and microplastics
The vast quantities and ubiquity of single-use cups mean they inevitably contribute to litter and pollution in urban and natural environments, harming wildlife, ecosystems, and human well-being.
Additionally, the plastic lining in cups can break down into microplastics, which are harmful to aquatic life and can enter the food chain.
Resource consumption
The production of disposable coffee cups requires substantial raw materials, including paper (from trees) and petroleum (for the plastic lining). While many of these disposable products are partially made from recyclable materials, their production processes consume significant amounts of water and energy.
💡 See how it compares: Compare this to the environmental impact of other commercial wastes to better understand the scale. For example, commercial electronic waste volumes are much lower, but their potential toxicity is much higher.
Transitioning to alternative coffee cups
There are three main reasons why transitioning away from single-use, hard-to-recycle coffee cups is so difficult:
It’s an established industry – The disposable coffee cup industry employs thousands of people across different economic sectors in the UK. Transforming these systems requires time, effort, and willingness.
Convenience – Many people have made takeaway coffee into a habit, and we know that changing established patterns requires persistent awareness, marketing and possibly economic incentives.
Expensive – On average, alternative, fully recyclable single-use solutions are 50% more expensive than traditional single-use products.
An inevitable transition
However, the tides are rapidly changing in the UK and globally. Environmental awareness and action continue to grow, and social pressure is increasing, forcing governments like the UK to fulfil environmental and waste commitments in line with the transition to a circular economy, working to overcome these blockers.
The UK government’s 25-Year Environment Plan aims to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. While this may seem like a long time, it will only take 16 years to reduce 2.5 billion cups of waste to zero, which implies a reduction of 150 million cups every year!