The Challenge
With the emphasis on climate change, many businesses are looking for alternative ways they can make a positive impact on the environment and are constantly reviewing their methods of recycling. Traditional takeaway coffee cups are made with a plastic lining that can’t easily be recycled. In the UK alone we use seven million disposable coffee cups every day- that’s 2.5 billion a year.
An international energy supplier is using a large amount of traditional paper takeaway cups for their 400+ staff members at their head office; they are looking at ways they can reduce the amount of waste they are producing. The cups are used every day for all hot drinks and are then thrown into any office bin, which means the coffee liquid is contaminating other items and the cups are mixed in with all the other waste they produce.
The client approached Shredall Recycling with the aim to help them solve the issue of the number of cups they are throwing away. They want a simple solution for contamination and to reduce the amount of waste they are sending to landfill. Taking a more sustainable approach to their hot beverage consumption.
The Solution
We supplied the client with new paper cups which are made with an earth coating instead of a traditional plastic lining, meaning these cups can be recycled using traditional methods. So far our client has thirty RecycleMe collection stations for internal collection of the recyclable cups and lids. The collection stations include separate compartments to dispose of the liquid, cups and the lid, making the recycling process easier. We have provided six 1100 litre Shredall bins to be kept outside, where our clients will empty the recycling station into a specific bag and place in the back of house bin ready for collection by ourselves at a predetermined schedule. We will empty all back of house bins on a 4-weekly scheduled basis and bring the cups back to be shredded, baled and sent onto a UK paper mill to be recycled.
Shredall SDS Group have a wealth of experience when it comes to paper recycling, using our existing national recycling system to collect, sort and recycle all the cups.
The Result
The collection stations and back of house recycling bins were successfully installed with 140,000 various sized cups and lids with a re-order per quarter.
All paper and cardboard waste is baled at the Shredall Recycling depot and sent to an environmentally approved and accredited mill in the United Kingdom, where it is made into tissue products and new packaging material.
The Shredall recycling system works well for our client and they now can rest assured that all paper cups are recycled 100%.
