Detpak’s RecycleMe coffee cups have arrived in the United Kingdom, with Taylor St Baristas coffee shops the first to sign on to the program.
RecycleMe cups, which came to Australia in June this year, are treated with a new lining which can be removed from the paper, making them easily recyclable into high-quality paper products according to Detpak. The lining manufacturer, Smart Planet Technology, says the EarthCoating lining uses 43 per cent less plastic than traditional cups used in the UK.
Detpak is working with recycling firm Shredall in the UK, which will collect, sort and recycle both the cups and their lids. Shredall will expand upon its existing 13,000 collection points around the country to accommodate the scheme.
Taylor St Baristas, which operates nine shops in central London, has welcomed the scheme, with the owners calling it the first sustainable coffee cup they have found since they opened and started looking for more environmentally-friendly solutions, back in 2006.
More than 2.5 billion coffee cups are used every year in the United Kingdom, and only 0.5 per cent are ever recycled, according to Taylor St Baristas.
