Huntington Beach, Seal Beach surfers offer alternatives to food-package waste

The four Surfrider pals have developed a line of eco-friendly cups, straws, box and utensils.

Like many beachgoers, Shane Coons and three surfing pals picked up trash during visits. But unlike many, they didn’t walk away satisfied they’ve done enough.

By the spring of 2018, they were plotting, after surf sessions, to make a greener Southern California — and one with bluer waves.

Those plastic straws? The four now manufacture straws that are 100% paper. Plastic-lined coffee cups? Theirs have half as much plastic and can be recycled. Plastic sippy cup lids for coffee? They have “butterfly” cups with self-contained spill-free tops you can drink from.

Their company, 4 blue waves, incorporated in May 2018 and has quickly developed a full line of green — or at least greener — products, including fast food containers, compostable wooden utensils and reusable bamboo plates.

Now it’s a matter helping consumers and retailers catch up with the transition to more environmentally friendly single-use containers, utensils, cups and straws. At beach cleanups, 75% of the trash are food and beverage related, Coons said in a post-surf interview at a Bolsa Chica State Beach snack bar patio.

“We’re on the front edge of the wave,” he said. “Awareness is growing. … There’s a great need to make progress in the food and restaurant industry, and there’s a lot of technology that’s not being utilized.”

The company’s marquee product — the recyclable cup with less plastic content — can be found in some two dozen coffee shops and cafes throughout Southern California so far. Among other possible users is SoFi Stadium — the future home of Rams and Chargers — with a meeting scheduled to discuss the possibility later this month.

The cups are more common in the United Kingdom, where Coca Cola is using them, and Australia. But Coons and company expect that trend of state and local laws limiting the use of food-related plastics will buoy demand in Southern California.

“It’s a fully viable technology that is in use elsewhere,” Coons said. “What we’re trying to do is get it to catch on here.”

‘The passion I wanted’

Coons, a 48-year-old Seal Beach business attorney, had been looking for environment-friendly business clients in early 2018 when he attended the first Rising Tide Summit in San Pedro. The now-annual conference attracts environmental activists and green businesses with a particular focus on the ocean.

At the event, he met the owners of Newport Beach-based Smart Planet Technologies, which doesn’t make the recyclable cup but holds the patent for it and helps those interested in manufacturing the product. That started the ball rolling.

He then recruited three fellow Surfrider Foundation activists: Huntington Beach’s Laurie Hammond, Tony Soriano and a third man who asked not to be named to avoid conflicts with the boss at his day job. The four, who all continue at their primary workplaces, have a combined 40 years of volunteering for Surfrider.

“I was looking for people with the talent and the passion I wanted to work with, as well as sales and organizational skills,” Coons said from a stool outside the Bolsa Chica snack bar, high clouds wafting through the skies while a pair of surfers made their way across the sand. The unnamed co-founder was also on hand after having surfed with Coons earlier.

The four have no employees — any collecting of cups from their clients’ shops for recycling is done by them, for now. The self-funded startup hopes to break even next year and allow all four to begin working full time for the company. Right now, Coons is putting in the lion’s share of work, which he estimates at 60 hours a week.

Obstacles, goals

The 158 million single-use coffee cups used and discarded in the U.S. each day are enough to fill 500 football fields 10-feet high, according to Coons. That’s nearly 58 billion cups a year — if set end to end, enough to go around the Earth 147 times.

With Asia severely curtailing its import of recyclables in recent years, California — like much of the country — finds itself with inadequate infrastructure to process recyclables. As a result, much of it is ending up in landfills.

While many of the 4 blue waves cups suffer the same fate, Coons points out that at least they cut in half the plastic content that will linger in landfills. While the cups can be recycled — and many are — the company cannot officially market them as recyclable unless it is recycling at least 60%, a target Coons hopes to hit within two years.

First, the company needs to win more cooperation from clients’ shops in segregating the cups. And it needs to set up a more formal collection system to get the cups to the specialized recycling centers in Santa Ana and Downey that handle the material.

Coons is also hoping to get more and bigger venues, places where people typically do not take the cups “to go,” like movie theaters, stadiums, resorts, amusement parks and colleges.

While they’re working with a company developing a fully biodegradable cup that can hold hot liquids, Coons and his colleagues are nonetheless eager to promote products using existing technology.

“We don’t want the perfect to stand in the way of the good,” Coons said, glancing at the nearby waves rolling in.

As for the other products, straws are the next biggest seller. A couple dozen cafes and shops are using them now and the company is on talks with other potential users. The company’s paper straws informally tested by the Southern California News Group sat in water for nearly an hour before the first sign of softening. While the cups cost a couple pennies more than their traditional counterparts, the straws cost about twice as much as their market rivals, Coons said.

The cups and straws are among the company’s products manufactured in China, with the company preparing to move those operations to Southern California next year.

Meanwhile, Coons eyes drift back to the ocean. The late morning breeze is light, and a combination of southwest and northwest swells is producing alluring peaks.

“Maybe we need to paddle back out.”

Coffeebar is paying for your coffee for an entire year!

The coffee company's reCUP giveaway, which has now been extended until November 10, will award three lucky winners with one free coffee or tea drink every day for one whole year.

RENO, NV - November 4, 2019 - Coffeebar is celebrating their new earth-friendly paper cups by giving away the most EPIC prize they’ve ever given! Three lucky winners will be chosen to win one free coffee or tea drink every single day for an entire year.

This giveaway comes after the specialty coffee company announced its use of reCUP, innovative paper cups that contain 40% less plastic. Coffeebar also announced their commitment to establishing a closed loop recycling program, which will allow any used reCUP to be collected for recycling along with other recyclables. The giveaway is designed to promote this initiative, encouraging guests to bring their paper cups back to the cafe in order to be recycled responsibly.

With an estimated value of $2,200, the grand prize is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for coffee lovers. Coffeebar will select one winner in each location they serve: Reno, Lake Tahoe and the San Francisco Bay Area. For a chance to win, entrants must simply post a photo of Coffeebar’s new reCUPs or their favorite Coffeebar reusable tumbler on Instagram and tag #showusyourrecup and #raisingthecoffeebar.

Winners will be announced in conjunction with the opening of the company’s eighth location in Menlo Park on November 11, 2019. Find full details of the giveaway on Coffeebar’s Instagram @coffeebar. Good luck!

Sky Ocean Rescue commends Canary Wharf Group’s sustainability drive

The Canary Wharf Group’s ‘Break the plastic habit’ programme has been commended by Sky Ocean Rescue.

Fiona Ball, group head of inspirational business & Sky Ocean Rescue, Sky, said the recycling and sustainability initiative was ideal for a near ‘micro-city’ such as the Canary Wharf estate.

‘Breaking The Plastic Habit’ is a 12-month programme to promote a culture of reduction, re-use and recycling to challenge single-use plastic within Canary Wharf.

“It’s a huge opportunity – a ‘micro-city’ is enclosed and you can control what comes in. Doing something jointly with partners [businesses on the estate] is good – with real business leaders making a commitment and taking a stance,” she said.

Up to 120,000 people travel to the Canary Wharf estate every day – both working and visiting.

John Garwood, managing director and group company secretary of Canary Wharf Group, said: “The aim was to encourage move away from throw-away plastic culture. ‘Break the plastic habit’ programme has enabled us to eliminate one million pieces of single use plastic from the estate and a further four million plastic items have been recycled.”

Martin Gettings, group head of sustainability at Canary Wharf Group, announced that 4.2m coffee cups have been recycled at the estate (much of each through using Smart Planet Technology’s reCUP), and cut the use of 1.2m straws. “This is not an initiative, this has to be business as usual,” he said.

Sky’s Ball added that up to 40m people have been made aware of the issues surrounding single-use issues through TV coverage on SKY, BBC and Netflix.

She confirmed that Sky’s own goals include a commitment to be single-use plastic-free on operations, products and supply chain by 2020, particularly product packaging sent to customers.

Last year Canary Wharf become the first UK site to offer a deposit return schemewith a functioning machine.

In January the Canary Wharf Group launched the HELPFUL mobile app – a plastic recycling and rewarding app.

HELPFUL simplifies and incentivises reuse and recycling for consumers, helping visitors to correctly recycle waste, switch to reusable products and collect rewards.

Participating retailers at Canary Wharf support the app with QR code points to claim reuse coin rewards, include Café Nero, Carluccio’s, Crussh, Eat, Krispy Kreme, Leon, Notes Coffee, Ole & Steen, Paul, Pret a Manger, Scribbler, Starbucks and Ted Baker.

Additionally, the Canary Wharf Group was included as one of the highest voted inspirational businesses driving sustainability forward in Edie’s Business Leadership Survey 2019 and named as an ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development – United Kingdom’ in the Capital Finance International Sustainability Awards 2018.

Smart Planet Technologies to speak at the Rising Tide Summit

Leading engineering company for sustainable packaging materials, Smart Planet Technologies, to speak about the reCUP® recyclable paper cup and EarthCoating® with ocean conservation leaders and businesses

Smart Planet Technologies will be presenting at the Rising Tide Summit, scheduled to take place in San Pedro, CA on the 27th and 28th of March, 2019. The materials engineering and intellectual property company will be speaking about reCUP and EarthCoating, their recyclable solutions designed to address the 50 billion paper cups that end up in US landfills each year.

Paper cups are a mixed material, comprised of paper and plastic. Conventional recycling systems are not designed to process the plastic coatings usually found in paper cups, so paper cups are typically diverted to landfills.

Smart Planet Technologies has developed EarthCoating, a barrier coating for paper cups and other paper products that is fully compatible with conventional paper recycling. EarthCoating contains 51% less plastic than conventional coatings, and the reCUP, made with EarthCoating, can be pulped into recycled paper using conventional paper recycling equipment. A paper cup that is compatible with recycling systems is a valuable material to recover for use in the production of recycled paperboard products.

Recycling is an optimal end-of life solution for paper cups because it supports a circular economy, as paper materials can be recycled up to seven times. The solution has already become a global phenomenon, with millions of paper cups across having been sold by packaging manufacturers and distributors including Detpak, CupPrint, VaioPak, Pureco, Linstol, Bunzl, Sysco, and more.

Attendees of the event will be served coffee in reCUPs, which will be collected for recycling into new paper products by Allan Company, a leading materials recycling service provider, upon the completion of the 2-day event.

“The first step to getting paper cups recycled is to make them valuable and easy for recyclers to process through their conventional recycling equipment,” said Todd Gasparik, Vice President of Business Development for Smart Planet Technologies and presenter at the Rising Tide Summit.

“Solving tough problems requires a thirst for innovation.” Said Vipe Desai, Founder of the Rising Tide Summit and CEO of HDX. “Smart Planet Technologies is bringing forth a solution that is long overdue and is already having an impact on the marketplace. It’s exactly the type of innovation needed and attendees are going to have a chance to experience and learn all about their technology.”

The Rising Tide Summit is underwritten by the X Prize Foundation and Marisla Foundation, and will be attended by several NGO's that are focused on waste diversion, plastic reduction, increased recycling rates, and ocean conservation. Some of the participating NGO's are Ocean Institute, 5 Gyres, Final Straw, and AltaSea.

Panel info:

Environmental Entrepreneurs: Problem Solvers in Action

Entrepreneurs are hard wired to solve problems and in this conversation, President and CEO of the Ocean Institute, Dan Pingaro, will sit with two entrepreneurs who are using business as a force for good. The problems of single-use plastic straws and un-recyclable paper cups might just be about to meet their match.

Their businesses are built on solving issues related to waste and we’ll learn how they’re doing, where they’re going and what can businesses and NGOs learn from their efforts.

Moderator: Dan Pingaro, President and CEO, Ocean Institute
Panelist: Emma Rose-Cohen, Founder, FinalStraw
Panelist: Todd Gasparik, Vice President of Business Development,Smart Planet Technologies

More information about the Rising Tide Summit to be held in San Pedro, CA on March 27 and 28 can be found here.

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Smart Planet Technologies Awarded the Green Arrow Award from the California Product Stewardship Council

Smart Planet Technologies is the winner of the Green Arrow Award for System and Design Innovations, as judged by the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC). The Green Arrow Award is given to an organization demonstrating an innovative system approach that removes or reduces toxic or other problematic attributes present in other similar products, thereby improving diversion rates from landfills. 

(Sacramento, CA) – Four companies with ties to California will be honored by the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) for their innovative environmental efforts during the organization’s 8th Annual Arrow Awards ceremony.

Labcon, Smart Planet Technologies, Planet Recycling, Inc. and Walgreens will receive statewide recognition respectively for overall excellence in product stewardship, system and design innovations, coalition building and product-take-back.  

“We are delighted to honor companies that both in big and small ways are helping to change the way we deal with our trash,” said Heidi Sanborn, CPSC Executive Director. “Whether it be getting addictive drugs, old carpet, reducing packaging, or greening product design these companies are leaders. We are excited to be working with them.”  

Labcon is the recipient of the 2017 Golden Arrow Award for Overall Excellence in Product Stewardship. A company that produces labware consumables with 100% recyclable packaging and uses vegetable based soy inks exclusively. Labcon is committed to reducing their water and energy use, waste production and greenhouse gas emissions, with some of their manufacturing processes even sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere.  

Smart Planet Technologies will receive the 2017 Green Arrow Award for System and Design Innovations. Smart Planet is an intellectual property and materials engineering company that developed reCUP, the first commercially available paper cup that's engineered for recycling. reCUP use 51% less plastic than traditional poly-coated paper cups and can be processed through existing paper recycling equipment as if there is no coating applied at all through the use of their EarthCoating technology, a highly mineralized resin alternative to 100% plastic coatings for paper based packaging.  

Planet Recycling, Inc. is the winner of the 2017 Bow & Arrow Award for Coalition Building for building partnerships and demonstrating the inter-dependence amongst stakeholders. Planet Recycling is a carpet and pad recycling company that services all of San Diego County. In the recycling business for over 50 years, Planet Recycling collaborates with producers, distributors, retailers, public agencies and other stakeholders to improve the solutions for the carpet recycling industry.  

Walgreens will be presented with the 2017 Infinity Arrow Award for Service and Take-Back. Walgreens’ Safe Medication Disposal Program provides safe medication disposal kiosks at over 600 24-hour locations in 45 states and the District of Columbia - 55 of which are located in California. Since program inception in February 2016, the Walgreens' kiosks have collected over 72 tons of medications at no cost to the public. Walgreens' program is the first ongoing national effort by a retailer.  

The California Product Stewardship Council’s Annual Arrow Awards ceremony will take place during the California Resource Recovery Association’s 41st annual conference and tradeshow, held at the Paradise Point Resort in San Diego on Tuesday, August 22nd at 5:45 PM.  

About California Product Stewardship Council
California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) educates both the public and private sectors about Product Stewardship and closely partners with business, jurisdictions, waste and recycling companies, manufacturers and others to promote and encourage sustainable practices and to recognize those companies who are taking a leadership role in participating in waste reduction and recycling. For more information, please go to: www.CalPSC.org.