7-Eleven and Simply Cups has announced a new takeaway cup recycling initiative to save 70 million takeaway cups from going to landfill.
The partnership will see dedicated 7-Eleven Simply Cups collection bins for takeaway coffee and Slurpee cups installed in over 200 7-Eleven stores nationally and 50 other large-scale locations such as universities or construction sites from March 2018.
7-Eleven Chief Executive Officer Angus McKay said: “As Australia’s second largest takeaway coffee destination we felt we had a responsibility to take the lead and find a solution to save cups from going to landfill.”
“In partnership with Simply Cups, 7-Eleven has developed a collection and recycling programme for coffee and Slurpee cups to kick-start the cup recycling revolution across Australia,” he said.
“As the programme scales up, 7-Eleven is committing to recycling 70 million cups a year, equivalent to the number we sell in-store.”
Currently, more than one billion takeaway cups end up in landfill each year in Australia because there is no effective way for cups to be recycled. This is due to the polyethylene or liquid paperboard lining being a contaminant for regular paper recycling facilities. However, thanks to new home-grown technology there is now a way to treat plastic-lined cups.
Closed Loop’s Simply Cups founder Rob Pascoe said: “Simply Cups now has access to technology that removes the plastic lining from paper-based cups so that both materials can then be processed in regular paper and plastic recycling facilities.”
“By collecting takeaway cups via a separate waste stream, Simply Cups can guarantee that cups collected through the dedicated 7-Eleven bins will be recycled,” he said.
“I’m really excited to be partnering with 7-Eleven to help solve one of Australia’s biggest waste problems.”
The 7-Eleven Simply Cups collection bins will be rolled out in March 2018 and will take any brand of coffee, Slurpee or similar paper-based cup.
Mr McKay said: “It doesn’t matter where you purchase your drink, we want consumers to dispose of their cups in the 7-Eleven Simply Cups bin and be part of the cup recycling revolution.”
McKay and Pascoe both encouraged other organisations to get on board and implement a Simply Cups programme to save cups from going to landfill.