Grundon Waste Management has launched a dedicated Paper Cup Recycling service which is ideally suited for universities, colleges and schools.
Aimed at helping to tackle the ‘mountain’ of 2.5 billion cups consumed annually in the UK, the cost of the service is tailored around the frequency of customer collections and the number of cups to be recycled, rather than membership fees.
Grundon also guarantees that all its collections are certified CarbonNeutral®.
In addition, thanks to a new partnership with CupCyclingTM by James Cropper, one of the UK’s leading cup recycling facilities, customers will be able to buy back paper made from cups which have already been recycled.
The new service is available as a standalone offering - meaning organisations do not have to be existing Grundon customers - or as part of the recycling specialist’s total waste management package.
A key part of the process is to ensure that as paper cups are thrown away, they are separated from other waste streams. To help encourage this, Grundon’s new service includes:
- Expert advice, support and signage to encourage responsible disposal
- Delivery and installation of specially-designed colour-coded paper cup recycling bins with a central reservoir to contain excess liquid and a special side pod on each bin for the disposal of lids
- A CarbonNeutral® waste sack liner, which can be easily removed when the bin is full
- A selection of different sized external cup recycling containers where cups can be stored to await collection
- Support for Waste Awareness Days to promote the benefits of the programme
- Additional posters and marketing materials to create awareness of paper cup recycling
Earlier this year, Grundon was one of the first waste collectors to partner with Costa Coffee when it announced its commitment to recycle half a billion takeaway cups a year.
Paper cup recycling facts and figures
- As a nation, the UK disposes of 2.5 billion disposable cups every year - that’s seven million a day
- Paper cups are problematic to recycle because they are made of two materials - paper and the polyethylene film which is bonded to it. The bonding makes it difficult to separate the paper fibres from the film
- It is widely reported that less than 1% of those cups disposed of are currently recycled
- The majority of paper cups currently go into general waste, which means they are either disposed of via an Energy from Waste (EfW) facility, which generates energy, or they go into landfill
- Grundon can now recycle most polyethylene (PE) coated cups, coffee cups used by high street chains such as Costa and Starbucks, and cold cups, such as those used by McDonald’s for serving soft drinks and milkshakes
- To date, James Cropper has recycled more than 20 million coffee cups through its facility, which has the capacity to upcycle 500 million each year
- Waste paper cups are given a new life as a variety of paper products, for example, a ream (approximately 500 sheets) of 80gsm paper contains 46 cups.
For more information about Grundon, please visit www.grundon.com