TransPennine Express
The introduction of co-cre8's Mobile Cup Recycling Stations gives the rail operator a dedicated route for a stream that was contaminating everything else.
Single-use cups were clogging general waste bins across the operator's stations and contaminating the recycling bins, because customers assumed a paper cup could be treated like other paper.
Ten branded Mobile Cup Recycling Stations, approved by the Department for Transport, were introduced at Hull, Scarborough and Cleethorpes to segregate cups, lids and liquids at source.
TransPennine Express is a train operating company running regional and inter-city services between the major cities and towns of Northern England and Scotland.
As well as managing 19 stations on its routes, TransPennine Express completes around 29 million passenger journeys in a typical year.
With a focus on reducing its negative environmental impact, TransPennine Express is committed to conserving resources, limiting waste and embedding circular economy principles into its operational activities.
The operator already had recycling and general waste bins at its stations, but wanted to increase recycling further, and beverage cups were the obvious place to start. Single-use coffee cups clog up general waste bins and frequently contaminate recycling bins, because customers believe that a predominantly paper cup can be treated like other paper products. In fact, cups require a specialist recycling process.
TransPennine Express understood that recycling paper cups would need new processes and new infrastructure, beginning with segregating cup waste from other materials.
Dedicated cup bins were required, so the train company turned to co-cre8, currently the only supplier of cup collection bins approved by the Department for Transport.
Ten co-cre8 Mobile Cup Recycling Stations were ordered, all branded to TransPennine Express's design requirements. Three were placed on the station concourses at Hull, Scarborough and Cleethorpes, with the remaining unit kept in reserve.
Each bin has separate apertures for cups, lids and liquids, so the materials collected can all be recycled without contamination. Bin liners are used so waste can be emptied more easily and the bins are kept cleaner.
Cup recycling at TransPennine Express has only just started, yet initial feedback is extremely encouraging.
Stations managed on the TransPennine Express network
Department for Transport approved cup stations supplied
Stations live at launch: Hull, Scarborough and Cleethorpes
“Cup waste was not only dragging down our recycling stats but was also contaminating valuable materials that were then prevented from being recycled.”
“The system we have now put into place will transform this problem. The cup collection bins are prominently positioned in three of our key stations and, together with the clear and concise signage, customers will now find it easy to dispose their coffee cups in the correct bin after use. Once we've had some experience of how the bins are being used, our expectation is that they will be rolled out to other stations over the course of the next year.”
The thinking behind this work runs through the rest of what we do.
