Single-Use Cup Recycling
Did you know your single-use cups need to be recycled separately?
In collaboration with the National Cup Recycling Scheme, we are bringing cup recycling to the Highlands for the first time. Read on to learn about the initiative and how to get involved.
200 million
single-use cups are used and discarded in Scotland every year.
4%
are currently recycled, due to a lack of necessary infrastructure.
67%
of people in the Highlands make an effort to recycle their cups, but only 5% know to do so correctly.
The problem with cups
Single-use cups are a cornerstone of on-the-go food and drink culture.
Like all single-use items, they offer convenience for businesses and consumers. However they are also wasteful, made to be used once and discarded. This contributes to climate change, pollution and other environmental damage. This is why they are subject to upcoming regulations, including a suggested mandatory takeback for recycling.
We are working to reduce the use of single-use items by promoting alternatives, like reusable cups. However, we also need to reduce the impact of single-use cups that do get used. Recycling allows the materials making up single-use cups to be captured and reused. This can reduce the carbon footprint of cups by 50%.
Only 4% of single-use cups are currently recycled, due to a lack of infrastructure.
Single-use cups are hard to recycle due to their waterproof plastic lining. This means they cannot be recycled at scale with paper, plastic or other mixed materials streams.
They need to be collected and recycled separately.
Bring cup recycling to your community
There is currently limited paper cup recycling infrastructure in the Highlands. We are working to change this with the Cup Box from the National Cup Recycling Scheme.
Try it for free!
Building on experience from the Keep Scotland Beautiful Cup Movement campaign, we've teamed up with the National Cup Recycling Scheme to trial their new Cup Box in the Highlands. The pilot will aim to generate insights around how cup recycling can work in the region, with a view to scaling it up.
We are looking for pilot participants in three key settings:
- Cup retailers – hospitality, food & drink businesses who are interested in recycling the single-use cups they put on the market.
- Community hubs – who are interested in operating a cup recycling point for their community.
- Workplaces – to address single-use cup waste at work, whether generated on site or carried in.
Each participant will receive two free boxes to try. In addition, we will provide a guidance and support, including information and marketing materials.
The Cup Box is...
- Ordered and uplifted by courier
- Easy to set up and use
- Fits up to 700 cups
- 30cmx30cmx80cm
- Suitable for plastic lined paper cups only - no compostables or biodegradables
To learn more about the Cup Box and paper cup recycling in general, visit the National Cup Recycling Scheme website.
If you are interested in helping to reduce cup waste in your business or community, get in touch using the form below.
Highland Cup Recycling map
View all pilot participants to find your nearest Cup Box.
Further information
Know your cup: Compostable and biodegradable cups are an increasingly popular alternative to single-use paper cups for businesses and consumers wanting to make greener choices. However, these come with their own challenges.
This handy guide, from the James Cropper cup recycling mill, provides a useful overview of the current landscape of single-use cups on the market and what to do with them after use.
The National Cup Recycling Scheme is the UK’s largest paper cup recycling scheme. The Scheme brings together major retailers, waste management companies and UK paper mills all with the shared aim of growing the infrastructure needed to increase the number of paper cups being collected and recycled in the UK.
Our Cup Box initiative is building on experinece from the Keep Scotland Beautiful Cup Movement campaign, which was has been working to address single-use cup waste since 2018.
This includes the 'Cup Movement in the Highlands', which trialed a reusable cup scheme along the North Coast 500, as well as the current #TakeItBack initiative, promoting cup recycling with big coffee retailers in Glasgow and Dundee.
