Bristol coffee cup recycling scheme set to be expanded
A trash firm has installed cup containers across Bristol, making it easier for people to recycle.
5.6 tonnes of single-use cups have been recycled into greeting cards, paper bags, and gift boxes thus far.
Due to the program’s success, it will now be expanded, with recycling bins being installed in hospitals around the area.
“Bristol has a reputation for being a green city, and it is wonderful to see that we are continuing to build on that by providing people more opportunities to recycle,” said Councillor Nicola Beech, cabinet member for climate, ecology, waste and energy on Bristol City Council.
More than 465,000 cups have been collected since the ‘For Cups Sake’ recycling programme began in February 2020.
The cups are baled at the Bristol Waste facility in Avonmouth after being collected and then shipped to the James Cropper paper mill in the Lake District.
In Avonmouth, the cups are crushed into bales before being sent to the Lake District to be recycled.
The cup’s plastic liner is removed, allowing the paper to be recycled into products like cards, notebooks, and shopping bags.
Gwen Frost, head of sustainability and innovation at Bristol Waste, explained the necessity for the bins: “Thousands of paper cups are still used in Bristol each year, and the majority of them are not recycled. Three out of every four people are still unaware that cups must be separated from regular card and paper.”
Each year, three billion single-use coffee cups are discarded in the United States, with fewer than 4% being recycled.
The Cup Fund was established owing to a 5p levy on throwaway coffee cups intended to prevent plastic waste, and the programme was first funded by the charity Hubbub.
