By participating in the scheme, Costa hopes that it will be able to address the burgeoning issue of how to recycle paper cups within its concession outlets located at corporate offices, universities and transport hubs.

The coffee shop chain will join other founding members of the Simply Cups initiative, including John Lewis Partnership, BaxterStorey, ISS Facility Services and cup makers Huhtamaki, to improve paper cup recycling.

The scheme will help recover and recycle the 2.5bn paper cups that can often be sent to landfill or incinerated each year in the UK, according to Simply Cups.

Simply Cups is a partnership formed between Closed Loop Environmental Solutions and Simply Waste Solutions that will provide paper-cup manufacturers, organisations operating in the supply chain as well as beverage and hospitality outlets with a cost-efficient collection and recycling service that will reduce their operating costs and improve their environmental credentials.

Ollie Rosevear, energy and environment Manager at Whitbread, parent company of Costa, said: “Costa is delighted to join the Simply Cups partnership as part of our wider commitment to explore innovative ways to take a holistic approach towards a sustainable life cycle of our cups.

“Alongside our membership of Simply Cups, we have also recently launched a new cup designed to reduce the apparent temperature of the exterior of the cup by evenly distributing the heat around the cup.

“This means that the customers’ hands do not get too hot when holding a single cup eliminating the need for an additional sleeve or double cupping.

“Costa is always looking for new innovations, partnerships and collaborative efforts to lead the way in developing sustainable solutions to reduce the impact of our cups on the environment. Our membership of Simply Cups is a great example of this ongoing work.”

Liz Gyekye

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