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INFORMATION ON THE ENVIRONMENT

The major component of any paper cup is, by definition, the paper itself and it is easy to forget that cellulose fibre (the individual fibres used to produce a sheet of paper or board) is probably the world's first and most abundant 'bio polymer'.

In the vast majority of instances, paper is produced (along with a range of other products such as construction timber) from managed, sustainable forests which were initially planted as a 'crop' and which have been overseen in line with the best available practices, such as the recommendations of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

The modern paper industry converts this resource, firstly into pulp and then into paper and board, often making use of the residues from the forest as a source of energy.

To make a paper cup, the paper material is laminated with a polyethylene coating and formed into the familiar cup shapes by very resource-efficient operations, squeezing the maximum number of cups from each unit area of the sheet. Any left-over paper or board or 'offcuts' are also recycled, ensuring that as little material as possible is wasted. Indeed, the paper offcuts are viewed as a valuable resource.

Of course, all this would be wasted if the only option were to throw away the used paper cup, but we have demonstrated that this valuable material can be reused even after you have finished your coffee or cold drink! So please do not throw that used cup into the trash if a recovery and recycling option is available to you.