Brisbane City Council offers coffee cup recycling how-to

THE Brisbane City Council has solved the brewing question of how residents best dispose of takeaway coffee cups.

THE Brisbane City Council has solved the brewing question of how residents best to dispose of takeaway coffee cups.

The issue is the different composition of each disposable cup.

In a detailed explanation, and to avoid any confusion, a council waste minimisation employee has posted on the BCC Facebook’s page in which bin to place both the plastic lid and the wax-lined receptacle.

The waste minimisation employee notes that the question has been posed many times by residents who are confused about which coloured bin it should be placed.

The issue is the different composition of each disposable cup.

Some recyclers have the capacity to recycle both the lid and the cup while for others it isn’t that easy.

“Significant variation exists between the materials used and the thickness of the wax coating/inner moisture barrier on different products in market,” the Facebook post reads.

“Consequently, much more paper fibre can be recovered from certain products. As the plastic lids of all coffee cups certainly are recyclable, and some cups are more recyclable than others.

“Council advises residents that all coffee cups should be placed in the recycling bin to ensure all recoverable materials can be sorted and not unnecessarily end up in landfill.”

Better still, the BCC recommends “the avoidance of disposable coffee cups altogether, in favour of reusable cups.”

Originally published as Brisbane City Council offers coffee cup recycling how-to