PKG0070

Written evidence submitted by the Paper Cup Recovery and Recycling Group

Executive Summary

• The PCRRG represents 40 organisations from across the paper cup, coffee retail, waste recycling and reprocessing, and local authority sectors. The group acts as a forum to create a non-competitive environment for collaboration, and its members are proactively taking a market-led voluntary approach to increase paper cup recovery and recycling in the UK.
• In our response, we have provided information on the activities of our members to drive recycling and recovery of cups and the efforts to reduce paper cup litter. This activity is across raw material specifications, design and manufacturing of cups; to the collection and processing of waste materials; to in-use and disposal behaviour of consumers.
• There is a common misunderstanding that coated paperboard, i.e. paper cups, cannot be recycled; this is not the case. They can be recycled and there are UK facilities that can do this, including ACE UK and James Cropper Paper PLC.
• The PCRRG believes that harnessing opportunities to develop effective national infrastructure and services for paper cup collection and processing are essential. As well as this, focused consumer engagement campaigns to promote behavioural change, which are led voluntarily by group members, will be more effective than legislation.
• The group does not support fiscal mechanisms (e.g. taxation) as an appropriate methodology for dealing with paper cup waste or to resolve littering. The group strongly believes that its commitment to action, and the examples of good practice that its members have been involved in around recovery and recycling activities over recent years shows that there is the necessary appetite for a market-led solutions; and partnerships such as those with expert litter organisations to support behaviour change programmes are being actively explored.
• It is our opinion that the solutions for paper cups and plastic bottles are not the same.

1.                  About PCRRG

1.1               The PCRRG was formally established in 2014, building on existing informal partnerships between its founding members, to address the challenges in the UK relating to single use paper cup sustainability and to coordinate industry’s commitment to delivering effective, recovery, recycling and anti-littering solutions. 

1.2               As our group focuses on the paper cup supply chain, we have drafted our response to only include comments on issues that are within our experience and the remit of the PCRRG. This response focuses on non-compostable single use paper coffee cups.

2.      Section 1: Impact

The role of packaging

2.1.             Packaging’s prime purpose is to ensure the product is delivered safely and in good condition to the consumer. Food contact packaging must meet legislative requirements and be fit for purpose for the use to which it is being put.

2.2.             Coffee shop operators must be confident that the packaging they use (including paper cups) must not represent a risk to their staff or consumer as a safe and hygienic serving vessel. This applies equally to single-use cups and reusable alternatives, especially where the consumer has limited access to washing facilities for returnable cups in store.

The environmental impact of coffee cup waste

2.3               Paper cups are used to serve beverages across different subsectors in the market place, and it is difficult to accurately calculate the number of cups nationally.  Recent reports have estimated the volume of paper cups used every year in the UK, and as a result the figures of 2.5 - 3.0 billion (as stated by Project Café UK and the Guardian) have been widely published. While this is a small fraction in the context of broader waste challenges we recognise that it is important, and are engaged in ensuring it can reach the target facilities for recovery and recycling.

2.4               There is a common misunderstanding that coated paper board, the material used to make paper cups, cannot be recycled. This is not the case. It can be recycled and in the UK, there are currently facilities doing so. Furthermore, the paper fibre used as the raw material in the manufacturing of paper cup board which contains virgin fibre, is sustainably sourced with robust forestry management procedures in place.  As fibre from virgin sources is strong and good quality, it is attractive to recyclers and producers of recycled content paper products. The plastic material, mainly PE, recovered from paper cups during the recycling process can also be reused as a secondary raw material.

2.5               Other reprocessing mechanisms also exist for recycling paper cups into polymer-based materials, such as garden/street furniture and insulation. 

2.6               The recovery of energy from paper cup waste also has a role to play in delivering a responsible disposal solution.

2.7               The environmental impacts of littering require a different response focused primarily on consumer engagement and behaviour change. The most recent litter survey carried out by Keep Scotland Beautiful commissioned by INCPEN in 2016 suggests that drinks cups are 0.5% of the number of littered items.[1]

2.8               The group is also linked in to Keep Wales Tidy and other organisations in this respect.

Increases in coffee cup use, collection and recycling levels

2.9               Consumer demand for coffee continues to rise and the number of coffee shops in the UK is forecast to increase from 20,000 to 30,000 by 2025[2] bringing with it the associated economic benefits, with an associated increase in demand expected for paper cups.

2.10           There is a forecast movement from single use cups in the vending sector (for hot drinks by automated vending machines) towards paper cups, which will result in more paper cups arising in ‘closed’ (office/public building) environments.

2.11           Levels of collaboration across the supply chain are growing, allowing for knowledge sharing and the formation of more innovative partnerships to drive recycling activities and solutions[3].

2.12           The UK has a good record of innovating to recycle beverages packaging; drinks cartons made from paperboard, are widely collected and recycled. Since 2006 there has been an increase from 4% to 92% of local authority areas offering a carton recycling service, either from the kerbside or through the industry’s bring bank system.

Addressing recycling

2.13           The creation, use and recycling of a paper cup involves up to seven different stakeholders. For a paper cup to be recovered and recycled, end to end collaboration across the supply chain, including consumer involvement, is key. A paper cup supply chain typically looks like the schematic below.

*Either a dedicated used paper cup collection or paper cups collected through in a dry mixed recycling service.
**It is anticipated that both collection solutions will require a level of sorting e.g. separating a dry mixed recycling material stream into various materials types and / or removal of unwanted items like cup lids, stirrers and discarded food before the materials go to the fibre recovery facility[4]

2.14           Successful recycling requires involvement from each stakeholder in the process.

• The cup design needs to consider the available collection and recycling infrastructure available at end of life.
• Consumers need to place the empty cup, limiting contamination, in the specified recycling collection container.
• The waste collector must empty the bin and take the contents to a MRF (Materials Recovery Facility) or reprocessor.
• The MRF must sort cups from the other items (or have the capacity to include them in mixed paper bales), which will only happen if the MRF operator feels there is a value (given the economic associated with operational costs and commodity prices) in doing so (or if the MRF has been designed to do so).

2.15           Single use paper cups have a polymer barrier, a polyethylene plastic (PE) coating, which is critical for the safe hygienic use by consumers.

2.16           The PCRRG is currently compiling a register of cup types and components on the market to inform the whole supply chain. Furthermore, the PCRRG members have investigated alternative ways of applying a plastic lining, as well as other coating formulas, and the PCRRG has an open mind about new future developments.

2.17           Post-consumer cups can be collected as a separate stream or collected with other paper or in a mixed recyclables stream. These different approaches impact on the volume of cup waste cup material reaching the reprocessors.  Sorting equipment at MRFs can also impact the amount of product which is passed on through the reprocessing supply chain for recycling.  The PCRRG is committed to optimising capture at each stage and has undertaken research and activity-based project work to better understand how to tackle the various issues.

2.18           The PCRRG Infrastructure working group has initiated research to map facilities in the UK that can/will accept paper cups for recycling which will be shared to support increased understanding and recycling[5].

Increasing recycling

2.19           The PCRRG is supporting research into: best practice collection and sorting approaches across the supply chain; consumer behaviour at the in-use and disposal phases of the supply chain; and materials arisings and reprocessing opportunities.  Ongoing collaboration and communication will ensure tangible and cohesive outcomes are achieved.

3.      Section 2: Progress

Consumer Engagement

3.1.             The PCRRG membership has been engaging with a third-party provider to undertake a programme of consumer research to better understand behaviours and influencing strategies to inform our approach to communication.

3.2.             The challenges in communicating messages effectively using marketing collateral at point of sale or disposal must be addressed collaboratively across the supply chain to be successful. The PCRRG believes that it is vital that there is consistency in messaging, as well as recycling infrastructure to support communications with a set of uniform messages. This would help in providing clear and concise messaging for consumers across the UK. The group is strongly of the view that the messaging focusing on ‘empty cup/ recyclable cup’ could support progress. 

3.3.             Our Communications and Engagement working group is undertaking a programme of work over the course of the manifesto delivery which will help to support commitments to reduce consumer confusion and encourage recycling.

Actions undertaken by industry to reduce coffee cup waste

3.4.             The PCRRG’s Paper Cup Manifesto[6] is a positive example of industry taking voluntary collective action, and represents a viable demonstration of its willingness to collaborate. This Manifesto has set a goal that by 2020, 75% of the UK population will have access to facilities that enable used paper cups to be recycled.

3.5.             The PCRRG operates four working groups. They deliver the research and activities which contribute towards the membership achieving the goals in the Manifesto. The working groups on ‘Cup Design’, ‘Infrastructure and Partnership’, ‘Communications and Engagement’, and ‘Litter’ have each set out business plans against which progress will be measured

3.6.             The coffee cup supply chain, including members of the PCRRG are actively supporting the Square Mile Challenge, which launched in London’s Square Mile on 3rd April 2017. This location holds the UK’s biggest concentration of office workers and regular coffee customers. The City of London, national coffee retailers and some of the Square Mile’s biggest employers, are joining the scheme led by environmental charity Hubbub, in partnership with recycling company Simply Cups, to introduce coffee cup recycling facilities across the City. The coffee cups collected can be remade into a range of items which will be donated to local community projects and schools and used to reward those contributing the most to the recycling effort during the challenge.

3.7.             The initiative follows a pilot scheme run in Manchester last year which has seen cups recycled over a three month period.

3.8.             The PCRRG is currently in discussion with the Business in the Community (BITC[7]) Circular Economy Taskforce about a similar approach. The Taskforce is an active working group of businesses from across sectors, collaborating on the creation of practical solutions to the challenges of resource use and waste. Through the ‘Circular Office’ initiative it is hoped that the membership of both groups can be leveraged to deliver a programme to reduce, recycle and capture value from office waste, including coffee cups.

3.9.             The PCRRG recognises the benefits of both paper fibre recycling options and recycling of paper cups into new polymer-based materials.  Individually our members are actively leading or playing key roles in delivering several other innovative projects:

• Bunzl Catering Supplies is working closely with Simply Cups, to drive increased recovery and recycling of paper cups amongst its customer base.  In recent months, it has seen success with Loughborough University, which is the first university to sign up the Simply Cups scheme, and contract caterer Gather and Gather. 
• Costa has completed a successful paper cup recycling trial, which took place in over 45 stores in London and Manchester at the end of last year. The nationwide scheme will roll out in April. Costa will recycle any cup regardless of brand, and is working alongside its waste partner Veolia to transport them to specialist waste processing plants.
• McDonald’s has rolled out its recycling station programme to 750 stores, with the remainder to be installed over the next 12 months.  The new stations enable customers to separate liquid, paper cups and plastic for recycling. The cups are being recycled for their paper fibre by James Cropper Paper PLC, a custom speciality papermaker in Cumbria that can reprocess laminated paper fibre feedstock.
• Starbucks has launched a new paper cup recycling scheme, initially in 20 stores in central and west London, designed to help enable effective recycling.  The new bins will test how cups can be recycled and how people embrace this new behaviour. The recycling services are provided by Starbuck’s waste management partner, Veolia.

Support from Government

3.10.         PCRRG believes that the key to achieving a higher recycling rate for paper cups is the harmonisation of the supply chain through increases in collaboration. The group is keen to work with any initiative that has a similar aim to ensure a joined up approach.

3.11.         PCRRG would welcome the opportunity to work with WRAP to leverage existing resources which could be used to support research and action-based learning projects which the paper cup supply chain could implement and share learnings to enhance understanding and progress activity, if an appropriate partnership could be formed. Members of the group have already been in discussion about a joint working relationship through Courtauld 2025.

3.12.         The group would also support the further leveraging of existing government initiatives as a tool to improve paper cup recycling awareness. For example, existing campaigns by WRAP such as Recycle Now could provide strong and established platforms to convey the core messages for paper cup recycling to a larger audience. This would help make paper cup recycling a routine behaviour, if the audience could be appropriately directed in the future.

Alternatives to polyethylene coated cups

3.13.         Manufacturers are continually innovating to ensure their products meet customer demand and are appropriate for the waste management framework already in existence in the markets in which they operate. The PCRRG welcomes all innovations that help to realise the opportunity to recycle more paper cups. The group includes packaging innovators whose input is providing insight into the product manufacturing phase in the paper cup supply chain.

3.14.         The PCRRG believes that there is a role for new material and cup formats in reaching effective recovery and recycling solutions, but these cannot be developed in isolation of scalable infrastructure at an appropriate scale and educating consumers on the appropriate disposal behaviour.

3.15.         The important factors for new cup design are their: scalability, safety, fitness for purpose, compliance with food contact, hygiene and other regulations, sustainability and recyclability.

3.16.         In the development of any new paper cup design, the PCRRG offers the opportunity for any company to have a full understanding of the environmental impacts associated with both raw materials and use and end-of-life phases at all stages of the supply chain.

3.17.         The group acknowledges the role of compostable cups in the market place. They also require a dedicated collection infrastructure, and joined up approach across the supply chain to ensure their collection is maximised and that they do not contaminate dry recycling streams.
 

4.      Section 3: Solutions

Waste reduction initiatives

4.1.             The PCRRG welcomes the use of reusable cups, however, reusables are not considered to be a viable replacement for more than a small percentage of the overall paper cup market because of consumer preferences and the on-the-go nature of coffee sales.

4.2.             Retail coffee brands in the PCRRG are, in some instances, issuing or selling their consumers reusable cups and offering discounted retail prices for coffee, as part of their sustainability strategies. 

4.3.             From an environmental perspective reusables do have an environmental impact associated with their manufacture, cleaning and end-of-life phases whilst providing challenges on hygiene at point of service for staff and consumers.

Charges, taxes, deposits or levies on the use of these products

4.4.             The PCRRG does not support the introduction of charges, taxes, deposit schemes or levies on single use paper cups. The group strongly believes that its commitment to voluntary action, and the numerous examples of good practice in recovery and recycling activities that its members have been involved in over recent years shows that there is the necessary appetite for market-led solutions.

4.5.             Deposit return schemes do not address the current lack of recycling infrastructure for paper cups and therefore will not fundamentally contribute to the agenda of increasing cup recycling. Furthermore, motivating consumers to return used cups is a challenge and is considered by the PCRRG to be impractical as a one-size fits all solution. From a retail perspective, there are additional considerations associated with deposit schemes, such as retail space required for storage, waste handling restrictions and implications for cost to the consumer at point of sale.

4.6.             The PCRRG believes that the concept of a tax proposed on paper cups cannot be compared like-for-like with the imposition of the ‘bag tax’. The need to ensure hygiene is maintained for consumer and operator alike at all times along with the practicalities of carrying a reusable alternative to a paper cup means that the practice is unlikely to become wide-spread.

4.7.             The PCRRG strongly believes that this means that a similar levy on paper cups is not a viable long term solution. Furthermore, taxing single-use paper cups will not improve recycling infrastructure.

4.8.             Applying a tax to a product, where there is no environmental impact evidence to provide guidance on the most appropriate disposal route, may drive counter-intuitive and unsustainable solutions. The PCRRG believes improvements to infrastructure alongside changing consumer behaviour through education are key to working towards a more sustainable paper cup supply chain.

4.9.             The PCRRG believes that charges, taxes, deposits and levies will not, in themselves, address the UK’s litter problems. In relation to litter, to achieve the necessary transformation in consumer behaviour will require investment in appropriate, national behaviour change led campaigns. This collaboratively designed response must involve the whole packaging and producing sector in conjunction with the statutory authorities and NGOs.

Membership:

Executive board 2016/17

Benders Paper Cups

Bunzl Catering Supplies

Café Nero

Costa Coffee

DS Smith

Food Packaging Association

Grundon

Huhtamaki

James Cropper

Seda International Packaging Group

Starbucks

Members

ACE UK

Bewley’s

Bio Bean

British Retail Association

Dart Products Europe

Dunkin Brands

First Mile

Fruglepac

Greggs

Havi

International Paper

Keep Scotland Beautiful

KFC

Kotkamills

Mars Drinks

Maxabel International

Mc Donald’s

Nestle

Pelican Rouge Coffee Solutions

Pret A Manger

Stora enso

Smart Planet Technology

Supporting members

British Coffee Association

British Soft Drinks Association

Confederation of Paper Industries

Keep Britain Tidy

LARAC

Westminster Council

WRAP

April 2017

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