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DS Smith, a sustainable packaging company based in the United Kingdom, has announced plans to expand its coffee cup recycling program to Europe through its De Hoop Mill in the Netherlands. The launch, which follows a successful trial at the mill, aims to reduce the amount of coffee cups that end up in landfill or incineration, DS Smith reports in a news release on the expansion of this program.
The recyclers first introduced a recycling approach for its cups at its Kemsley Paper Mill in the United Kingdom. As a result of efforts by DS Smith and others in the industry, coffee cup recycling has increased from 1 in 400 to 1 in 25 cups over the past two years in the U.K., the company reports in a news release. The packaging company reports that it hopes to find similar results in Europe with the expansion of this program.
“While we’re a continent of coffee lovers, we need to work together to ensure that we are not negatively impacting the environment and single-use coffee cups do not end up in landfill,” says Miles Roberts, group CEO of DS Smith. “We’re proud to be able to export our successful recycling formula to Europe. But we need help: Our biggest challenge remains getting hold of the cups. We’re calling on governments to work closely with us to solve the problem of supply and ensure consumers put cups in separate recycling bins, knowing that they aren’t just recycled in theory, but in practice, too.”
At the initial De Hoop Mill trial in the Netherlands, DS Smith worked alongside U.K.-based waste management company Renewi, its collection partner, to recycle more than 100,000 disposable coffee cups. Further trials are also underway ahead of a launch later this year.
DS Smith reports that it has 14 mills across Europe and has the capacity to tackle the continent’s coffee cup waste problem.