Simply Cups has now collected and recycled 50 million paper cups across Australia and New Zealand but says there is still work to be done.
The program, run by Closed Loop Environmental Solutions, operates at more than 1,500 collection locations, including coffee shops, convenience stores, schools, shopping centres, office buildings, and event venues. The initiative diverts coffee, soft drink, ice-cream, frozen yoghurt, and Slurpee cups from landfill.
Rob Pascoe, Managing Director of Closed Loop Environmental Solutions, credited the community for the achievement.
“Once the community know they can recycle their paper cups separately, they either collect cups at home and drop them off at a collection location or they make sure they are returning their cup daily thanks to our many convenient collection locations.”
Despite the milestone, Brendan Lee, Circular Economy Manager, said there is still more work to be done.
“We’re very proud to have reached 50 million cups – but there are still a lot of paper cups being sent to landfill. Our solution works and Simply Cups has the capacity to collect, process and recycle more! We are excited by what the future holds, particularly with our recognition as an Alternative Destination under the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL).”
The program is supported by organisations such as pioneering partner 7-Eleven Australia, which provides more than 690 public collection points. Schools, universities, and workplaces are also participating in the effort.
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