Starbucks redesigns European takeaway cup

An extensive R&D effort and significant innovations in Starbucks‘ cup manufacturing process in Europe have culminated in the replacement of the cup’s plastic lining with a mineral-based coating. The single-use plastic lids have also been replaced with fibre alternatives, coated with the same mineral-based material.

Featuring the same familiar Starbucks design, but the hot cup is now certified home-compostable and widely recyclable. The new hot cup delivers the same premium experience for customers, without creating extra work or difficulties for store partners (employees).

A common challenge with plastic-lined coffee cups is that they may be difficult to recycle, with the plastic lining needing to be separated from the paper cup. Many mainstream recycling and waste management facilities lack the technology to separate the materials, often requiring investment in dedicated coffee cup deposit and recycling schemes. This new cup and lid can be recycled in recycling bins or composted at home, leaving no harmful residue to people or nature behind.

A pan-European effort, the new cup is created using traceable wood fibre from Northern European forests, together with a mineral-based coating developed in Brescia, Italy. The cup was designed and constructed at Transcend Packaging’s factory, located in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, Wales.

Through a phased approach, the new hot cup and lid solution will gradually now be rolled out in stores across select European markets this year; beginning in ten initial countries including Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria this month, and already live in Spain and Hungary, before coming to the UK and Ireland later this year.

Duncan Moir, president of Starbucks EMEA, said: “Our hot cup solution is the first introduction of this emerging technology applied to a coffee cup at scale. Starbucks new hot cup in Europe provides a widely recyclable and home compostable alternative for when customers don’t have a reusable cup. I am really proud of the team that has worked to develop this innovative solution, and I am so excited to see it in the hands of our customers in Europe as they enjoy their coffee. We are keen to learn more from this rollout and remain focused on introducing more sustainable innovations to meet the shifting requirements of markets worldwide.”

Vincent Mooij, director of Circpack by Veolia, commented: “We’re pleased to see Starbucks taking tangible steps toward reducing plastic waste by removing the plastic lining from their cups. One of the challenges with plastic-lined coffee cups is that they produce waste during the pulping process, resulting in lower yields at paper mills and more waste ending up in landfills or incinerators. By making it easier to process through existing recycling infrastructure, this innovation supports real progress in reducing plastic waste while improving material recovery.”

Lorenzo Angelucci, CEO of Transcend Packaging, said: “Starbucks and the Europe go-to-market commitment it has made in this new technology allows us to demonstrate the transformative potential of the packaging solution we have developed. We welcome Starbucks courage in innovation to redesign and totally transform its packaging production processes, creating a premium new product while removing the plastic lining in coffee cups and swapping to fibre lids.”

Sander Defruyt, lead of strategy & thought leadership for the plastics initiative at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said: “In addition to promoting and incentivising the use of reusable cups, it’s great to see Starbucks investing in innovation for its paper takeaway cups and lids. Companies like Starbucks are demonstrating how  industry can drive market change by incentivising reuse and designing widely recyclable and compostable packaging. It is important for the sector to start transitioning in this way as this would enable better collection, reduce consumer confusion, and boost actual reuse, recycling and composting rates.”

Starbucks continues to operate a reusables-first approach across its stores, which includes rewarding customers who bring their own reusable cup with discounts and providing in-store ceramic offerings for hot drinks in the majority of its European locations. Starbucks EMEA has been offering a discount on beverages served in a reusable cup since first entering the region over 25 years ago. This European rollout of the new hot cup is another step on that journey, providing a compostable and recyclable packaging solution that is compliant with EU and UK packaging legislation.

For more information on the design, materials and certifications of the new cup and lid, visit: starbucks.onecupbigchange.com.

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