Stakeholders of the paper cup and retail supply chain have announced the launch of the formalised Paper Cup Recovery and Recycling Group (PCRRG), managed and coordinated by LRS Consultancy.
With 14 founding members – including Grundon Waste Management, paper recycling company James Cropper PLC, Caffè Nero, Nestlé Professional, and Mars Drinks – PCRRG’s primary aim is to ‘continue to drive action around the development of the collection and recycling opportunities for paper cups’ by identifying and supporting ‘solutions to sustainably transform used paper cups into a valuable resource’.
The group has been meeting regularly since November 2012, but under its formalisation, will now be run by an executive board of elected members.
Alongside this, a number of working groups, chaired by industry representatives, are set to be created to focus on ‘specific priority subjects’ and deliver a range of projects to help achieve the group’s objectives.
PCRRG says it will now work with all of its members across to supply chain to focus on:
- bringing together different aspects of the supply chain to better understand all of the different components and stakeholder views;
- developing consistent messaging in order to educate the involved parties on material value and recyclability;
- identifying industry wide, self-funding, and easy to access solutions;
- conducting in-market trials; and
- actively managing risks associated with the environmental impacts and legislation of paper cups.
The group also stated that it is ‘keen to represent the whole paper cup supply chain within the UK’.
It follows on from the news that a new paper cup recycling scheme, Simply Cups, will be launched in the UK on 1 August.
Need for an ‘industry-wide approach’
Speaking of the formalisation of the membership group, Matthew Miller, Group Innovation Manager at James Cropper PLC, said: “James Cropper is delighted to be part of the Paper Cup Recovery and Recycling Group.
“As the developer and operator of the UK’s first dedicated cup recycling facility, we have long been aware of the need for an industry-wide approach to solving the problem of post-consumer cup recovery and reuse.
“The group represents a strong commitment from all parts of the supply chain to make this a reality.”
Dee Moloney, Managing Director of LRS Consultancy, added: “We are really excited to be involved in the Paper Cup Recovery and Recycling Group; we would encourage more organisations to take advantage of the opportunity to help design and implement sustainability solutions that support the development of a circular economy.”
Read more about paper cup recycling.
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