Renewi plc has given new life to around 11 million disposable coffee cups in the Netherlands this year through its circular collaboration with Beautiful Cups, an international cup company.
The Beautiful Cups are ideally suited for recycling into a secondary raw material as they consist of 95% paper/cardboard and just 5% polythene (PE). Renewi collects the cups in special bags from businesses in the Netherlands.
The cups are transported to Renewi’s Breda site to be baled before being sent to Renewi’s processing partner, WEPA to separate the PE plastic interior of the cup from the cardboard exterior using specialist technology. Once separated, the paper is recycled into toilet paper and the PE plastic is recycled separately.
“By working with Beautiful Cups we offer our customers a sustainable concept that brings Renewi’s purpose to life – giving new life to used materials by recycling and recovering waste into valuable secondary raw materials.”
The Beautiful Cups are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and for every 7,000 cups that are recycled, a new tree is planted in the Sumatra rainforest in Indonesia. Over 3,000 trees have been planted in the rainforest so far and the goal is to plant another 10,000 trees. This will create a CO2reduction of more than 13,000 tonnes, which is the equivalent to over 12 hectares of new rainforest.
In the next three years, Renewi and Beautiful Cups expect to increase the amount of these cups that are recycled to over 50 million cups each year. The Beautiful Cups concept will be available in ten countries next year and will support the world’s three largest rainforests.
Otto de Bont, managing director of Renewi’s Commercial Waste Netherlands Division said: “By working with Beautiful Cups we offer our customers a sustainable concept that brings Renewi’s purpose to life – giving new life to used materials by recycling and recovering waste into valuable secondary raw materials. It is a completely circular process as the products made from the cups can be supplied back to the original customer, in addition to making a difference to our planet through planting new trees in our largest rainforests.”
Robert Wolff, Beautiful Cups CEO said: “The aim of the circular collaboration between Renewi and Beautiful Cups is to support companies and organisations in achieving their sustainability goals. Together with Renewi we not only ensure that the coffee cups are processed in a sustainable way, but also contribute to the preservation of the rainforest.”
