Following months of in-depth research, U.K.-based packaging and paper company, DS Smith, has found a solution to the coffee cup recycling challenge. Using its state-of-the- art paper mill in Kent, the company believes it could recycle up to the 2.5 billion cups discarded by British coffee lovers each year.

Commenting on the announcement, Peter Clayson, GM for DS Smith Recycling, said that "we have been working around the clock to solve the throw-away coffee cup challenge, as enjoying a latte has become part of British culture. We could recycle up to two and a half billion cups each year, but we need the recycling collection infrastructure to be far better if we are to reach the goal of recycling every last cup.

"There are two challenges to recycling a high volume of coffee cups. First, there is the plastic lining that must be removed from the cups, then we need to ensure that the cups have not been too badly soiled by food waste. If we can work together with local councils, coffee sellers, and the waste management sector to improve segregation of the cups and develop a comprehensive collection infrastructure, we can make a huge difference together,"Clayson explained.

Every day in the U.K., one in five visits a coffee shop. Every year, 2.5 billion single-use cups are thrown away—enough to reach around the world more than five times. Currently, we only recycle one in every 400, while just 1% of consumers bring their own reusable cups.

DS Smith has written to the government to call for measures to support better cup collection and provided details of its coffee cup recycling capacity to the PCRRG (Paper Cup Recycling and Recovery Group), of which it is a member, as this new development radically improves the U.K.'s ability to reprocess its used coffee cups.

For further information, email DS Smith, or visit the company’s recycling structure online.

DS Smith is a supplier of sustainable paperboard and plastics packaging solutions, supported by recycling and papermaking operations. A constituent of the FTSE100, the company was founded in London in the 1940s, and now operates in 37 countries and employs more than 27,000 people. Using the combined expertise of its four divisions—Packaging, Recycling, Paper, and Plastics—DS Smith works with customers to deliver solutions that reduce complexity and deliver results throughout the Supply Cycle.

 

The DS Smith Supply Cycle describes the closed recycling loops within the DS Smith Group, in particular the two-week loop of paper fiber moving around the group's recycling, papermaking, and packaging operations. For further information, visit DS Smith corporate online. 

Kemsley Paper Mill, in Sittingbourne, Kent, is part of DS Smith's Paper division. First built in 1924, it is now the largest paper reprocessor in the UK, and the second-largest paper reprocessor in Europe. More information about DS Smith paper reprocessing is also available online.