Smart Planet Technologies’ reCUP paper cup to be trialed by Costa Coffee in support of their recyclable paper cup initiatives in the UK
Newport Beach, CA, USA March 21, 2017 -- Smart Planet Technologies announces that Costa is evaluating the reCUP™ for a new takeaway cup solution to improve acceptability of paper cups for out-of-store collection and recycling.
Traditionally, paper cups have been coated on the interior with polyethylene or other plastics, to form the cup and hold liquid contents. However, this has made paper cups difficult to recycle in standard paper recycling processes. Therefore, paper cups are usually separated and sorted for landfill at standard recycling facilities in the UK.
To address the problem, in the first quarter of 2017, Costa has implemented an in-store recycling scheme for its 2,000 store locations, bringing the cups to the few specialist recycling centers in the UK that can accept paper cups.
Now, Costa Coffee is addressing challenges in out-of-store recycling by conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the reCUP to improve the processability and acceptance of paper cups in standard recycling facilities across the UK, while maintaining the performance standards of Costa Coffee’s iconic takeaway paper cup. The evaluation will also validate the acceptance of reCUP paper cup technology under UK and EU regulations for paperboard packaging.
The reCUP paper cup utilizes EarthCoating as its interior coating, a mineralized resin coating engineered to be fully repulpable and processable in traditional paper recycling processes and equipment. This innovation can unlock the value in recycling paper cups for the recycling industry to potentially avert the practice of paper cups being directed to landfill. The reCUP is commercially available in the US. For more information or to place an order, visit the recup.earth website.
About Smart Planet Technologies Smart Planet Technologies is a materials engineering company focused on sustainability for the packaging industry. Our innovative technologies are focused to conserve precious natural resources and provide high quality, environmental alternatives across a wide variety of packaging applications. The reCUP is covered in multiple countries under intellectual property rights owned by Smart Planet Technologies. For more information, visit smartplanettech.com