Environment agency Defra’s recent announcement that it would be scrapping the mandatory paper cup takeback scheme has prompted a response from waste management company Biffa.
Roger Wright, waste strategy and packaging manager, said: “It’s unfortunate Defra have decided to drop their mandatory takeaway cups takeback and compliance scheme as there’s still a very long way to go in addressing the challenges of single-use in this sector.”
Working with other industry partners, Biffa says it has identified that over 3.2 billion coffee cups are consumed annually in the UK, with only a tiny 2.6% of them successfully recycled. In contrast, a host of other materials like plastic and paper are recovered with at least a 45% success rate, supported by other parts of policy like Simpler Recycling in trying to boost this figure even further towards a goal of 65%.
Wright continued: “Despite this disappointment, Biffa’s coffee cup remains half full. Many high street brands are already independently signing up to schemes that demonstrate a determination to make our daily intake of tea and coffee as sustainable as possible. As such, we’re confident businesses will continue to do the right thing despite the mandate being dropped.”
“We’ll continue to support businesses in setting up a commercially sensible cup takeback scheme with partner James Cropper – which allows any coffee shop in any location and in any volumes to collect their cups and guarantee a positive sustainable outcome.”
You can read about Biffa’s proposals for cup recycling here.
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