Despite people in the UK getting through roughly 10,000 of the things every two minutes, the common assumption is that take away coffee cups – from places like Starbucks, Caffe Nero, Costa and the like – should go in the recycling bin.
So, to make the cups waterproof, they have a layer of plastic in. And to start with, they aren’t made of recycled materials! They create a huge carbon footprint.
Just two locations in the UK can recycle these materials, and one of them has never recycled any coffee cups whatsoever.
The problem I have with the fact that the companies must know their items can’t be recycled in a straightforward way, yet don’t do anything to quash the assumption that they are, is that there is a massive PR coup to be had from it.
Imagine. You want to get an advantage over your competitors in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Wouldn’t you be pumping funds into becoming the first one to get your cups sent for recycling? Wouldn’t you want to be shouting that from every poster, billboard, advert? Wouldn’t you want to show the others up for their lack of caring for our world?
It seems like a total missed goal to me.
Starbucks has apparently shown a vague interest in a totally recyclable cup, which can be processed in the normal way. But why aren’t they making more of an effort to get hold of it sooner?!
As consumers, we should be putting pressure on these companies to make a greater effort to find a viable solution, and at a far quicker pace than they currently are.
