Food and drink container makers have called for ministers to take action on paper cup recycling after an Environment Agency ruling.
The sustainability watchdog published a regulatory position statement on fibre-based composites under the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme.
The Environment Agency said that from 1 January 2026 materials consisting of 5 per cent or less plastic would count as paper or board.
It added that companies obligated under the EPR scheme for packaging would not generally be penalised for applying the forthcoming definition ahead of time.
The Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA) said this was “very significant” as it expects future fees under the packaging disposal tax to be far lower for paper and board than composites.
But the membership body questioned why paper cups “increasingly made with less than 5 per cent non-fibre content” were not mandatory for household collection under the government’s Simpler Recycling reforms.
The FPA called for circular economy minister Mary Creagh to “act”.
“Either allow cups to be collected from kerbside, given so many contain the same amounts of non-fibre content as packs that are going into bins, and/or (preferably and) set a timetable for the mandatory retailer takeback of paper cups to come into effect,” it said.
“Not to do so leaves paper cups in the equivalent of statelessness.”
The government has been contacted for comment.
