COSTA Coffee and McDonald’s UK have teamed up with motorway service area operator, Roadchef, to co-fund a cup recycling programme at all 30 Roadchef sites across the UK.
This is the latest project run by members of the National Cup Recycling Scheme, which aims to accelerate takeaway cup recycling across the country.
Roadchef’s service areas welcome over 50 million visitors every year, with the new initiative described as presenting a ‘massive opportunity’ to help solve the challenge of collecting and recycling paper takeaway cups on-the-go, whilst also tackling roadside litter.
65 new recycling units, designed by Unisan UK, are being introduced. The move means road users can keep hold of their takeaway cups in their cars after use, safe in the knowledge that they can easily recycle them at the next stop.
Consumers can use the units to separate their cups, lids, and any leftover drinks before sending them off for recycling. Cups will then be backhauled via Costa Coffee’s stores and will be processed at specialist facilities, including James Cropper’s CupCycling facility, where they will be turned into luxury paper and packaging using FibreBlend Upcycled Technology.
Richard Burnett, head of technology and innovation at James Cropper, said, “As a business that has sustainability at its core, creating a second life for valuable resources and materials that are considered challenging to recycle is hugely rewarding for us. We’re delighted to be part of Roadchef’s commitment to drive circular solutions that reduce waste, which is very much aligned with our own commitment to the war on waste through world class fibre blend innovation.
“Using our CupCycling expertise we are able to transform the paper cups that are used in their service stations into beautiful new papers for stationery and packaging.”
Costa Coffee already incentivises reuse through its Costa Coffee Club loyalty scheme and provides cup recycling points at its UK stores. The business recently announced the launch of a trial of 100% recyclable fibre lids, made from renewable plant-based material.
McDonald’s UK has committed to become net zero across its restaurants and offices by 2030 and across its entire value chain by 2040. Across its estate McDonald’s has over 1,100 recycling units where customers can recycle cups from any brand.
Mike Jackson, director of supply chain management & head of charity at Roadchef, commented, “Sustainability is top of Roadchef’s agenda, and we’ve been working hard to improve our credentials massively over the last few years to meet our net zero target. Our joint initiative with Costa Coffee and McDonald’s UK will make impactful change and I’m excited that our businesses are coming together to achieve a goal that’s so important to us all.
“Not only will we be recycling coffee cups at all 30 of our sites, but we’re also working on plans to have the recycled cups turned into notebooks that will be sold at our motorway service areas. It’s a closed loop initiative like this where we are really focusing our efforts as they have the potential to make radical steps towards achieving zero waste.”
Hannah Osman, national cup recycling manager for Valpak, added, “We are excited to see this new collaborative project launch, with aims to increase the number of coffee cups being captured and recycled through the National Cup Recycling Scheme. To date the National Cup Recycling Scheme has recycled nearly 167 million coffee cups.”
