Polypropylene cups are now designated as “widely recyclable” in the U.S., as a result of a partnership between Starbucks, WM, The NextGen Consortium, How2Recycle, The Recycling Partnership, and more.
According to the Recycling Partnership, while American households generate similar amounts of polypropylene and high-density polyethylene waste, polypropylene’s recycling rate is currently only one-third that of HDPE.
Polypropylene cups, which are often used for cold drinks such as alcoholic beverages at events and iced coffees, have now earned the “Widely Recyclable” designation from How2Recycle, which is North America’s most recognized on-pack disposal label.
As a result, more than 60% of U.S. households can now recycle these packs through drop-off programs or simply at curbside, in a move that is hoped to boost recycling rates of the material nationwide.
This collective project involved a number of different partners from across the U.S. packaging value chain.
The NextGen Consortium assembled a group, including Starbucks, to innovate polypropylene solutions – building on the Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition’s five year-long work on investing in PP-based infrastructure, education, and data analysis.
Meanwhile, Starbucks brought its significant scale and investments in sustainability to bear, with the aim of accelerating adoption, and How2Recycle contributed clear guidance on recyclability.
Further downstream, North America’s largest recycler, WM assisted in developing end markets and building recycling infrastructure.
“Expanding access, improving infrastructure and strengthening consumer communications takes collaboration across the value chain,” says Paul Nowak, executive director of GreenBlue, the nonprofit behind the How2Recycle program.
“No single organization can do this alone. The work we’re doing today has benefits beyond any single material. By investing in infrastructure and consumer-tested communications, we’re driving industry and behaviour change at scale.”
“Achieving the Widely Recyclable designation for polypropylene cups is a significant milestone,” adds Marika McCauley Sine, chief sustainability officer at Starbucks.
“It reflects what’s possible when businesses, recyclers and communities work together to create solutions that can reduce waste and make recycling easier for customers who opt for to-go beverages. We’re committed to continuing our collective effort to build a circular system that can benefit people and the planet.”
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