Our experience in establishing and operating the Simply Cups cup collection and recycling service – the world’s first –told us that there’s never been a greater need for solutions that turn used packaging products into second life materials. Consumers are demanding it of brand owners who, in turn, are looking for help from their supplier chain. This, together with the newly implemented the pan-EU laws restricting single-use items and ambitious paper and board recycling targets, has escalated the requirement for workable solutions.

Step forward The Cup Collective; a new partnership between Huhtamaki and Stora Enso that aims to recycle and capture the value of used paper cups across Europe on an industrial scale. co-cre8, with its extensive experience in this field, has been tasked to manage the programme. We’ll be working with partners throughout the supply chain, from the largest restaurants and café chains, retailers and transport hubs to independent coffee shops, collection partners, waste management operators and policymakers across Europe to address the challenges to recycling and deliver a viable scalable solution for Europe.

The first paper cup collection bins are now already available in restaurants, cafés, office buildings and transport hubs in the Brussels area. This includes McDonalds restaurants and SNCB train stations. The Cup Collective aims to recycle half a billion paper cups in the first two years and, as it is designed to be scalable, has the capacity to significantly increase recycling volumes throughout Europe. We are already in high-level discussions with a number of other cities across Europe so stay tuned for further updates soon.

For more information visit: thecupcollective.eu