An innovative new process to turn disposable coffee (and Tea) cups into a durable resin is being hailed as a breakthrough to trigger recycling of these unsustainable paper cups. Less than 0.25% of the estimated 3 billion paper cups used each year in the UK are currently recycled, meaning the vast majority end up in landfill or energy-from-waste incinerators.
The problem with the waste of the paper cups is so serious that earlier this year the government even suggested adding a new TAX on paper cups.
The initiative is however being challenged by some due to the construction of the paper cups, the material used to produce them is a problem. Paper cups are made from paper fibre and an additional plastic layer for waterproofing, thus making them extremely complex and troublesome to recycle as each layer must be painstakingly separated from the other.
Due to their construction and materials used to make them, paper cups are not widely accepted in household recycling collections. And, some high street coffee shops have faced warnings about symbols on their cups suggesting they are easily recyclable.
To solve this problem, Professors Dr Edward Kosior and Dr John Mitchell in conjunction with Nextek and Ashortwalk, have developed a resin, called NextCupCycle, which combines coffee cups’ high quality paper and plastic to make a strong material able to make a myriad of practical products.
The unique technology is a result of four years of research by Dr Mitchell at London’s Imperial College, collects coffee cups and adds extra plastic to their paper fibres to make the resin.
With new initiatives and technologies being produced, we are confident that in the near future we will have zero waste being sent to landfill! In the meantime our London rubbish collection services include rubbish collection in Hackney, so give us a call for all your waste and rubbish removal in the Hackney area.