Environmental Information

Paper Cups are 95% returnable to the soil, so can be composted, but we at The Paper Cup Company would prefer for cups to be recycled, and the fibres recovered. We manufacture cups using polyethylene (PE) coated board, although the PE coating makes up less than 5% by weight of the product.

PE is a oil based product, the alternative is Poly-lactic Acid (PLA) coated board. This material adds around 30-40% to the cost of the cup, and is both compostable and recyclable.

Most environmentalists feel tha recycling is the best option, and therefore PLA has become less sought after. The number of recycling centres taking used paper cups is growing, and if you know of any, please let us know so that we can add them to our database.