NextGen Consortium report: Collaboration crucial to paper cup recycling

While the relevance of paper cup recycling continues to grow, most cups still end up landfilled today, and the NextGen Consortium, a multiyear consortium managed by New York-based Closed Loop Partners that addresses single-use foodservice packaging, has released a report assessing the role of each stakeholder across the paper cup recovery value chain and ways to advance a more circular system.

The report, “Closing the Loop on Cups: Collective Action to Advance the Recovery of Paper Cups in the U.S.,” focuses on material recovery and recycling—focuses on the third lever in NextGen Consortium’s multipronged approach to addressing cup recovery, with the other levers being reuse models and material innovation.

“These cups contain high-quality fiber that is valuable to paper mills as other paper sources like newsprint and office paper decline,” the group says. “While the challenges for paper cup recovery and recycling are significant, collaboration among various stakeholders involved in paper cup recovery can help address its scale and complexity.”

According to the report, only about 11 percent of U.S. households have access to residential cup recycling programs. Of the top 100 U.S. cities by population, 24 of them accept paper cups in their curbside recycling programs, including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Louisville and Washington.

This year, the city of Memphis, whose program encompasses more than 182,000 households, added paper cup recycling to its program, and a rollout of paper cup recycling across the Carolinas began in April.

NextGen Consortium reports there are more than 30 mills in the U.S. that accept paper cups in mixed paper bales, which the group estimates to represent 75 percent of U.S. mixed paper demand, while an addition five mills accept paper cups in carton bales of aseptic and gable top containers and two building board product plants accept cups in a polycoated pack. The report notes there are mills that accept cups in sorted residential paper and news bales but does not indicate how many.

However, though the number of mills accepting paper cups has grown, the report indicates that none of the 30 mills currently accepting paper cups are west of Dallas, which leaves no domestic market in the West for paper cup bales. Most cup-accepting mills are in the Midwest and Northeast with several also in the Southeast. NextGen also reports that export markets for mixed paper bales can classify cups as a contaminant, which presents a barrier to cities on the East and West coasts that rely on those markets.

“This area is a strategic priority both to understand opportunities in export markets and identify new local end markets that might be available,” NextGen says.

Currently, there is no end market for the polyethylene cup liner, which goes to landfill.

In a call to action, the NextGen Consortium report says the collaboration between material recovery facilities (MRFs) and mill customers is critical to expanding acceptable recycling format lists.

“MRF acceptance of cups is a critical step to expanding community access for cup recycling,” the report says. “In regions with few or no paper mills that accept mixed paper, exploring opportunities for mechanically sorting cups into other marketable bales, such as carton bales with an end market, could be a viable option.”

The group recommends that for MRFs interested in paper cup recycling, conducting confirmational testing to understand how cups flow through their systems is the next step to determine where and what kinds of innovations might be required to effectively direct cups to the appropriate bale and at what cost. This information helps justify improvements to existing performance within MRFs by leveraging current technology or investing in new sortation equipment or labor to capture cups, the report says.

“Previous composition studies indicate cups are a very small percentage of total recycled fiber … which may impact targeted innovations across communities and mill customers,” it continues.

In looking ahead, NextGen Consortium, in collaboration with the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) and Atlanta-based paper recycling consultancy Moore & Associates, has identified more than 15 additional mills across North America that are interested in testing cup acceptance or can process cups today.

“While cups may represent a small portion of the overall recycling stream, they are a highly visible waste item that brands and other stakeholders are taking action to address,” NextGen says. “Cups contain high-quality fiber that will be valuable to paper mills, especially as other paper sources like newsprint and office paper decline. We need the entire value chain to work together to keep these valuable materials out of landfill.

“Going forward, we see collaborative action as critical to lasting success. This includes working closely with groups such as FPI, communities, MRFs, mills and other industry stakeholders to keep these materials in play. In the pursuit of a circular future, it takes a village to raise awareness and work together, for there is still much to be accomplished on our journey to improve cup recyclability.”

The full report can be found here.