Enviro-friendly recyclable coffee cup launches in Melbourne

MELBURNIANS, we’re doing it wrong. There’s a big coffee no-no that most of us are guilty of every day — and we don’t even know we’re doing it.

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MELBURNIANS, we’ve been doing coffee wrong.

There’s a big caffeine no-no most of us are guilty of and we don’t even know we’re doing it.

Most coffee drinkers think they’re helping the environment by putting their cups into green bins, when instead they belong in the trash.

This week, an Australian-first recyclable takeaway coffee cup will launch in Melbourne cafe for one week — with the hope of creating change in the industry.

Alicia Woodham, a barista at Padre Cafe in South Melbourne Market, uses KeepCups.

Waste Management Association of Australia chief executive Gayle Sloan said the majority of cups were a composite and needed to have the plastic separated from the paper.

“The cups are not bad for the environment if they are processed properly,” she said.

“The best option is to avoid the cups, and use a KeepCup, avoid generational waste.”

The plastic lid is recyclable but it’s the polythene (PE) layer inside most cups that disqualifies them from being able to be put with the other recyclables.

A reprocessing facility, that separates the cup’s plastic lining from the recyclable paper, does not exist in Victoria.

Detpak, Australian-owned paper and board packaging manufacturer, created the RecycleMe cup for Melbourne Museum’s cafe operated by Restaurant Associates.

Up to 96 per cent of the innovative cup can be recycled into other paper and board products.

Chelle Destefano’s coffee cup art. Picture: Calum Robertson.

Comparatively one billion paper cups end up in Australian landfill.

A blue bin will be outside the cafe for coffee drinkers to discard their lids and empty cups.

The recyclable products will then be taken to a recycling facility and turned into paper and cardboard.

If the trial is successful, the cups could become commercially viable in the next six months.

Detpak marketing and innovation general manager Tom Lunn said it was “expensive and difficult” for recyclers to separate the PE from the paperboard cup.

“There is no capital investment required from the paper recycling plant and the RecycleMe cup minimises cost implications for businesses in handling paper cups, providing commercial returns for the paper recyclers that they don’t get from the current PE-lined cups,” he said.

But many Melbourne cafes have already signed up to the Australian campaign Responsible Cafes which encourages coffee drinkers to bring in their own mug, enticed by a discount, to stop the waste.

Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said it was best to use a reusable cup.

“We’re working with organisations such as the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation to find ways to increase recycling of different materials and packaging types, including disposable coffee cups,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.

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