Starbucks to launch £1m fund to boost paper cup recycling

Starbucks and environmental charity Hubbub have launched on Thursday a £1m fund to help improve paper cup recycling facilities across the UK.

The US giant is using cash raised from its 5p charge on single-use paper cups - which it first introduced in 2018 - in all its outlets in order to back recycling schemes.

Local authorities, recycling companies and social enterprises will be invited to bid for grants from the so-called Cup Fund of up to £100,000 on behalf of their communities in what will result in 10 large-scale recycling programmes across the country.

The schemes will be chosen by an independent panel of recycling experts. Hubbub's chief Trewin Restorick said: “It means we'll be able to collect cups in significant volumes in areas where there may not have been any drop-off points before.”

Although there are now enough specialist recycling facilities in the UK to recycle all the paper cups used, there are still some issues when it comes to collecting the cups and getting them there.

Paper cups need a special recycling since the plastic film on the inside of the cup means they cannot be recycled with other mixed recycling. Currently one in 400 cups of the estimated 2.5bn is recycled each year and the rest end up in landfill.