Monday 6 August 2018

Veolia to put a lid on coffee cup waste in 2019

Waste management giant Veolia says it will collect 120 million coffee cups for recycling in 2019.

It predicts this 300% increase from the same time last year following 12 months spent introducing its in-store waste reduction service with food and drinks chains including Costa, Starbucks, McDonald’s and Caffè Nero.

The scheme means coffee cups are separated from other waste while still in cafes and restaurants, which the firm says helps minimise contamination and ensure a more effective process.

Veolia is already supporting Costa on its commitment to recycle as many disposable cups as it sells by 2020 - for every tonne recycled, Costa provides Veolia with a financial supplement to help subsidise further collections and initiatives.

Richard Kirkman, Veolia's Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, said: "We’re heading in the right direction but there is still plenty more to do, with millions of disposable cups still not entering recycling streams.

"To continue this progress, more organisations need to provide in-store solutions and more consumers to use them."