A UK company is launching a new easier to recycle coffee cup that it says can be thrown into paper recycling bins.
Starbucks has said it will trial the new coffee cup from Frugalpac that is made by gluing the thin plastic liner lightly so that it separates from the paper in the recycling process.
The issue of recycling these coffee cups was raised by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in a BBC documentary that also launched his #wastenot campaign.
Frugalpac chief executive Martin Myercough said: “It’s great to see Hugh’s campaign has had such an effect and that there’s now a real commitment across the industry to tackle this problem.
“People were shocked to learn that existing paper cups are only used once and rarely get recycled.
“We’ve spent the last two years developing our cup and we hope now that coffee chains and cup producers will see Frugalpac as an answer to this issue.
“We really hope that Frugalpac becomes the standard in the industry so people can get on with enjoying their coffee without worrying about what damage the cup does to the environment afterwards.”
A spokeswoman for Starbucks added: “We are very interested in finding out more about the Frugalpac cup and we will be testing it to see if it meets our standards for safety and quality with a view to trialling its recyclability.”
