Last year, Starbucks CEO Howard Schults committed that Starbucks’ entire stock of coffe cups will be recyclable by 2012.
Starbucks’vice president of Global Responsibility, Ben Packard, invited 30 cup, cupstock and coating manufacturers, recyclers, waste managers and university researchers to Seattle this week to discuss creating recyclable coffee cups.
Some of the research presented showed that many of the cups are already recyclable to recover paper pulp. In fact, a coffee cup can be converted into a pizza box in just three days.
Starbucks is looking to implement a pilot program in Manhattan in which specialized bins will be placed to collect cups and paper bags, which will then be sent to Staten Island’s Pratt Industries for recycling.
The key to recyclability of paper cups is their material, as some (such as Starbucks’) are made of old corrugated cardboard (OCC), and others are mixed paper.
Mixed paper is a lower grade of paper that has less value when recycled. Although many of these cups are lined with wax for temperature control, this can be removed prior to recycling.
Panelists discussed the possibility of better labeling for these cups in regards to recyclability, with one suggesting that compostable cups be labeled with a brown stripe. North America is responsible for 60 percent of the 220 billion paper cups used globally each year.
Source: Reuters, earth911.com
