PCRRG Response to Environment Audit Committee on Coffee Cups and Plastic Bottles
13.03.17
The Paper Cup Recovery and Recycling Group (PCRRG) was established as a response to the
industry’s commitment to address the challenges put forward on the use of single use coffee cups.
The PCRRG is a membership organisation comprising member companies who have signed up to the
Paper Cups Manifesto and have jointly pledged to significantly increase recycling rates of paper cups
by 2020.The PCRRG has started 2017 with strong progress and has seen a range of initiatives in the
marketing place, both those driven by individual’s members and those which are collaborations
across a number of areas. Alongside this progress, the PCRRG recognise that there is still significant
work to be done, and that collaboration across the supply chain is key to the success of the group.
With the announcement of the launch of an Environmental Audit Committee inquiry into the impact
of plastic bottles and coffee cups, we welcome the opportunity to update members on both the
activities of the companies involved, but also to highlight the costs to both business and ultimately
the consumer, should legislation be introduced. We believe that rather than focusing on legislation
as the primary driver of change, efforts should be focused on supporting the industry in harnessing
opportunities to increase recovery and recycling solutions, including the development of effective,
nationwide infrastructure networks and services for collection and processing, as well as focused
consumer engagement campaigns to promote behavioural change. We believe that a joined up
approach would, if managed effectively, will deliver significant net benefits to the nation through the
mechanisms of a circular economy.
Many of the companies involved in the PCRRG have set business targets to include not only activity
in recovery and recycling of paper cups, but also to address the other concerns about cups as well as
broader sustainability issues within their business. These targets form an integral part of day to day
business activities and also inform members’ engagement with suppliers, such as engagements with
waste operators, and also through external partnerships. So far in 2017 examples of such activity
include:
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Bunzl Catering Supplies is working closely with Simply Cups to drive increased recovery and
recycling of paper cups amongst its customer base. In recent months, Bunzl has seen
particular success with contract caterer Gather and Gather, and Loughborough University,
which is the first university to sign up to the Simply Cups scheme.
Costa has rolled out its cup recycling scheme nationwide after a successful trial. The scheme
is now available in more than 2,000 Costa stores nationwide and aims to recover and
guarantee the recycling of any paper takeaway cup from Costa or any of its competitors.
Greggs is working closely with Hubbub on the Neat Streets project and has developed a
programme of new educational initiatives around recycling.
McDonald’s has rolled out its recycling station programme to 750 stores, with the remainder
to be installed over the next 12 months. The new stations enable customers to separate
liquid, paper cups and plastic for recycling.
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Starbucks has launched a new paper cup recycling scheme, initially in 20 stores in central
and west London, designed to help enable effective recycling. The new bins will test how
cups can be recycled and how people embrace this new behaviour.
A number of PCRRG members are actively supporting the Square Mile Challenge, a new campaign
implemented in the City of London and coordinated by Hubbub and Simply Cups, with the aim to
recycle half a million cups in its first month. This programme follows on from the successful
#1moreshot programme piloted in Manchester which provided a good template for those planning
new initiatives, and there are many such plans currently in discussion.
The PCRRG member organisations continue to explore product innovations that will provide options
for the supply chain and we will continue to keep the market informed of their progress.
Whilst the inquiry has chosen to focus on coffee cups and plastic drinks bottles, we hope that the
inquiry recognises the proportionally low volume of waste that coffee cups account for within the
wider UK litter sphere, be this land or sea (0.7% of total annual UK litter*). What is clear from the
ongoing work of the PCRRG and its member companies is that great efforts are being taken to
identify and address the issues we face as an industry; from the design specification of cups, to the
collection and processing of waste materials. Through collaborative initiatives such as the Square
Mile Challenge, supported by PCRRG members, we are seeking to engage and better understand
how to change consumer behaviour and mind-sets when it comes to the disposal and recycling of
coffee cups. We recognise that whilst the technical solutions we continue to explore gain pace, the
process of changing consumer behaviours is one that cannot be addressed as quickly. Given the
complexity of the challenge we are collectively faced with, any legislative action is therefore unlikely
to achieve significant reductions in litter, which remains at its heart, a significant behavioural issue.
With this in mind we look forward to an inquiry which will assess the effectiveness of all the options
available to achieve the aims of reducing litter, meeting consumer demand and recovering valuable
resources through the most effective means. We ask that the committee look to a broad range of
businesses and organisations when seeking input on this subject, including those working for
sustainable solutions and behaviour change both in order to better understand the challenges and
opportunities the wider industry is facing, in addition to ensuring a balanced debate in order for the
Environmental Audit Committee to be best placed to provide future direction for both business and
society.
*Defra, 2015
Ends
March 2017
Issued on behalf of the PCRRG by Leapfrog PR. Editorial contacts are Felicity Read on 01242 282000
[email protected] or: Lucy Boreham on +447825 416 584 or
[email protected]