Frugalpac has developed a new recyclable paperboard coffee cup made from recycled paper that can be included in domestic waste recycling streams.
The cups are made without added chemicals by initially forming the paper and then applying the liner to the inside. The thin plastic liner is then welded into a cup shape and lightly glued into the formed cup, Frugalpac said. The top of the liner is rolled over the lip of the cup.
Because the liner is so lightly glued in place, when the cup goes to standard paper mills, it separates from the paper in the recycling process. This means that the new cup can be discarded into waste paper and cardboard streams, including through domestic recycling channels, so long as the lid has been removed first.
The cup will then be sent to normal paper recycling mills, where the plastic in the cups separates from the rest of the structure during washing in the wash, and, as the paper doesn’t need chemicals, it breaks down quickly in the paper recycling process.
The cups are cost-effective and will help the coffee industry to reduce the proportion of coffee cups sent to landfill instead of recycling facilities, Frugalpac said.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024