Dive Brief:
- Smart Planet Technologies Inc, an IP firm for the packaging industry, and PrintWinner, a printing and packaging distributor, is launching a line of paper cups that have EarthCoating and are designed to be recycled. The cups are used for hot beverages.
- EarthCoating is a coating that is made from 40% less plastics than traditional cups with polyethylene coatings; instead, it is made using a mineralized coating.
- Cups manufactured with EarthCoating can be processed using infrastructure that is already in place at paper recycling facilities.
Dive Insight:
Recycling pilot programs for the cups are in the planning stages. The results of the test runs will determine if the packages can be labeled “recyclable,” and the packaging is subject to the requirements of the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guide.
Food retailers have been seeking a solution for recycling cups for years. In 2008, in an attempt to reach the goal of recycling cups at all locations by 2015, Starbucks began a pilot recycling program. But it never took off, mostly due to issues with the removal of the plastic lining from the cups.
Chris Tilton, the chief technology officer of Smart Planet Technologies, said, “I believe this to be the technology breakthrough sought by all environmentally conscious retailers.”