Paper cup recycling pioneers return to the UK market to complete unfinished business and reignite the waste market
Circular economy expert, co-cre8, has launched a new nationwide paper cup collection and recycling service that’s designed for all participants in the lifecycle, regardless of size or volume.
The founders of co-cre8 have a strong pedigree in this market. The team established the UK’s first nationwide paper cup collection and recycling service in 2014, which was subsequently sold, and are currently managing The Cup Collective1 to increase cup recycling on an industrial scale across the EU.
“Our pioneering service kick-started paper cup recycling in 2014 yet, despite the media furore and consumer outrage over the billions of paper cups that are disposed of each year, still less than one per cent of all cups are currently being recycled in the UK after use”, says Peter Goodwin, Managing Director and Co-founder of co-cre8.
“With a decade’s worth of experience, we aim to break this deadlock with a layered collection and recycling service that will meet the needs of both foodservice chains, independent coffee shops, and everything in between”, added Peter.
Although the proposed UK Mandatory Paper Cup Take Back Legislation has been delayed until 2025, businesses can now benefit from the cost savings attributed to cup recycling whilst also fulfilling their commitments to generating less waste. In Brussels, for example, the cup recycling scheme, managed by co-cre8, is already reducing waste disposal costs by more than 50 per cent by using co-cre8’s own innovative cup collection stations, that stack cups, rather than bagging them loose. Furthermore, when these stations are put in the right place more than 40 per cent of dine-in cups can be collected without contamination for easy recycling.
James Capel, Chairman and Co-founder of co-cre8 says, “Our re-entry into the waste market is certainly a case of unfinished business. Cup recycling has stagnated while we’ve been away and our mission is to change that, by increasing the availability of proven cup collection infrastructure and services that ensure a much more circular outcome for these desirable high-quality fibres”.
co-cre8’s Paper Cup Recycling Scheme is open to all businesses of all sizes, across the whole of the UK and will register as an official DEFRA Take Back Scheme participant. A layered collection solution will be offered, which will be dependent on the volume of used cups generated by the business and includes backhaul or on-site collection, for larger users, and post-back for smaller businesses. co-cre8 will also offer expert guidance on how to implement cup recycling at site as well as providing a range of intuitive, brandable, and highly-durable cup collection stations that are proven to optimise efficiency and dramatically reduce contamination. Members will also be able to securely access real time data on the exact weight of collected and recycled, enabling the business to continually improve performance and to ensure compliance with UK Mandatory Take Back legislation, when introduced.
For more information on the co-cre8 paper cup recycling scheme, please follow this link or get in contact with the co-cre8 team enquiries@co-cre8.earth
Peter Goodwin and James Capel, Co-founders of co-cre8
External articles:
Feast Magazine, MRW, Public Sector Catering, Packaging News, Planet Vending
The Cup Collective Expands to Dublin
Keshari joined the co-cre8 team in 2022 and is responsible for the daily management of the business finances including financial reporting, purchase ledger, sales ledger and building relationships with customers and suppliers.
Wayne joined the co-cre8 team in 2022 and brings more than two decade’s worth of operational and commercial experience in the food service packaging and waste management sectors. With co-cre8’s portfolio of three business divisions, Wayne spreads his unrivalled skillset across multiple activities including for our Honest brand, internal Waste and Recycling Stations and System Design partnership projects. Wayne plays a key role in ensuring co-cre8’s operations are commercially viable, building and maintaining great relationships with suppliers, ensuring the smooth success of projects and keeping a smile on everyone’s face!
We welcomed Hannah to the team in January 2022 to grow and develop our Built Environment business division. Hannah brings a wealth of skills to the team including her fantastic communication and eye for detail.
Katie joined the team in December 2021, and plays a key role in supporting the Sales and Marketing Manager with all sales and marketing activity across the co-cre8 and Honest brands. Katie’s main responsibilities include pro-actively developing and reactively managing business-to-business sales opportunities, processing orders, general customer service and supporting with the creation and delivery of marketing campaigns.
Prior to co-founding co-cre8 in 2019, Peter spent 10 years as a UK Director of Closed Loop Environmental Solutions. With a passion for recycling and, as one of the UK’s leading exponents of promoting more circular solutions, Peter created and delivered many pioneering industry projects, most notably the Simply Cups scheme.
James has over 20 years’ experience in the waste and recycling industry. Starting with just one second hand truck, he founded and developed Simply Waste Solutions into a thriving, profitable business with a £35m turnover. In 2020, James decided that he was ready for new challenges and took Simply Waste to a successful exit, selling to Biffa plc for £40m.
Natalie joins the co-cre8 team with extensive knowledge and experience in waste, recycling, and circular business models, with her speciality in Finance. For the last 17 years, Natalie has worked, and was a shareholder, in a start-up, high growth to exit waste and recycling business, with 15 years spent at board level.
Georgia joined the team at co-cre8 in 2020 and is responsible for developing the business through creative thinking and effective communication via sales and marketing channels.
Rachel originally joined the co-cre8 team in 2019 as Customer Service Specialist for Simply Cups. Her role has since evolved, following the launch of the Built Environment range, where she now heads up all logistics including supplier liaising, order processing and general operations of the business.