M&S Food has launched a new paper fibre coffee cup in a move that it said makes it the first major high street coffee retailer to offer its hot drinks in 100% paper, plastic-free, and fully recyclable coffee cups.
The ‘exclusive’ cup is new to the market and available across 20 M&S sites, with it set to roll out to every M&S Café in the coming months. The cups feature a ‘striking’ design and feature a ‘100% recyclable’ banner.
Paper fibre lids were introduced by M&S earlier this year which led to a ‘strong’ customer response, with the retailer saying that the addition of the new cup set to result in 20 million units of plastic packaging removed each year from its food business.
M&S explained that regular coffee cups cannot be easily recycled due to the thin layer of plastic coating on the inside that stops contents from seeping into the paper. As a result, they cannot go into household recycling, it added.
Made from ‘innovative’ organic materials which M&S said can be recycled like any other paper products, a lining material which replicates the same barrier effect of plastic and performs ‘just as strongly’, according to independent testing, is utilised. The material has a plastic-free accreditation and ensures even if the cup ends up in landfill it will break down and leave no harmful plastics behind, M&S said.
Alex Freudmann, MD of M&S Food, said, “Our customers look to us to lead on the environment and we are constantly aiming to raise the bar and lower our impact on the planet. With one in every two of us visiting a coffee shop several times a week the long-lasting damage coffee cups can have on the planet without being properly recycled is huge.
“That’s why we were determined to bring a sustainable alternative to what’s out there today, and we’re proud to offer customers the first fully recyclable coffee cup on the high street. For me our coffee now ticks three big boxes – it’s delicious, it supports our growers and suppliers with every purchase, and now it comes in easy to recycle cups too.”
