Marks & Spencer (M&S) Food has become the first major high street coffee retailer to launch a paper fibre coffee cup.
The new cup is available across twenty sites, including M&S Cafes, vending machines, and Marketplaces within its food halls such as Stratford City, London, Leeds White Rose and Cheshunt, and will be rolling out to every M&S Cafe in the coming months.
From classic lattes to silky-smooth cappuccinos, each cup features a striking design with a proudly displayed banner ‘100 per cent recyclable’.
Currently, regular paper coffee cups cannot be easily recycled due to the thin layer of plastic coating on the inside that stops contents from seeping into the paper.
As a result, coffee cups cannot go into household recycling and, to date, have required specific takeback schemes and specific recycling processes operated by only a small number of recyclers in the UK.
With a strong customer response, M&S introduced its unique paper fibre lids earlier this year. M&S’ new cups and lids are the only cups on the high street made from innovative organic materials that can be recycled like other paper products.
The company used a lining material replicating the same barrier effect of plastic and performed just as strongly as plastic in independent testing and assurance but without the same long-lasting environmental impact if not properly recycled.
The material has a plastic-free accreditation and ensures even if the cup ends up in a landfill, it will break down and leave no harmful plastics behind.
M&S’ paper fibre coffee cup and lid will result in 20 million units of plastic packaging removed each year from its food business.
“Our customers look to us to lead on the environment, and we are constantly aiming to raise the bar and lower our impact on the planet,” said Alex Freudmann, MD, M&S Food.
“For me, our coffee now ticks three big boxes – it’s delicious, supports our growers and suppliers with every purchase, and comes in easy-to-recycle cups, too.”
