James Cropper CupCycling and #LeedsByExample Campaign Attract TV Media
James Cropper CupCycling and #LeedsByExample Campaign Attract TV Media
James Cropper are proud to have partnered with Forge Waste and Recycling and environmental charity Hubbub as part of the #LeedsByExample campaign. The campaign aims to improve 'on the go' recycling infrastructure for coffee cups in the Leeds/Yorkshire area.
Forge Waste and Recycling have already introduced recycling schemes for plastic and cans in Leeds and the next step in their campaign was the disposal of used paper cups. They have collected almost 200,000 cups in just 3 months from work places, coffee shops, universities, shopping centres and on the street cup bins.
The first delivery of cups from Forge has been received by James Cropper and was captured on film by BBC North West Tonight Chief Reporter, Dave Guest.
In just three months we’ve quickly moved from collecting very few cups to nearly two-hundred-thousand that are ready for delivery to the James Cropper mill. The pilot shows that the potential for our work with Hubbub and James Cropper to transform UK waste and embed circular economy thinking when it comes to coffee cups in cities is very real.Sam Goodall, Operations Director Forge Waste & Recycling
It’s not widely understood by consumers that coffee cups have to be recycled via a different waste stream, which is why we focus on developing infrastructure and communications in cities that make it easier for people to recycle properly while on-the-go.Almost three billion coffee cups go to waste every year. While the results of the trial are just the tip of the iceberg, they do demonstrate that with the right infrastructure and partners, coffee cups can become a profitable waste stream. Our goal is to extend the activity to include further cities in 2019 and encourage more waste companies to take inspiration from Forge and explore how they can adapt their operations to benefit from this valuable resource.Gavin Ellis, Director at Hubbub
With the capacity to upcycle 500 million coffee cups per year we welcome the thousands of discarded cups brought to Kendal today and hope this is just one of many local initiatives we can support to meet the capacity that we have. This scheme demonstrates that with the right infrastructure, great in-roads can be made to tackle the coffee cup issue. There needs to be a change in mindset in how we handle waste and source materials, and ensuring packaging is easy for consumers to recycle is key to this. The delivery marks a pivotal moment for recycling in the UK – and for us, it’s a step towards realising the potential of our CupCycling capabilities.We’re incredibly proud to work with Forge and Hubbub, who have successfully delivered a game-changing system which can help us become a nation that truly creates value from waste. We encourage more cities across the country to explore how they can adopt this pioneering initiative.James Cropper Chairman and CEO Phil Wild
