What do we do about coffee cups?
Cawleys is a waste management and resource recycling business. Our motto is “local responsibility, global recycling” and last year we celebrated our 70th year in business.
We believe 100% in recycling and conserving the earth’s resources. We don't own a landfill site and are known for looking for technological or scientific solutions to the problem of waste. As a third generation family business, thinking of the future and the legacy we leave for future generations is more than a 'tick box' attitude, it really is in our DNA.
What do we do with coffee cups?
People think that coffee cups can't be recycled but that's not true. We have a special recycling service which covers both coffee cups and used coffee grounds.
All the component parts in a single-use drinks cup, or any type of liquid carton container, can be recycled. Until now though, many people just haven't bothered to recycle them, or are not sure exactly what happens to their used cups.
When you use our coffee recycling service, you can be confident your cups really are being recycled. We work with a company which specialises in recycling beverage cups and cartons, using the latest technological processes. Cartons are pulped into a slurry, allowing the aluminium foil and polyethylene liners top be separated, and fibrous material to be collected. From these materials new products such as aluminium foil or paperboard products are made.
The key to good recycling is segregation
The essential step you have to take is to ensure you segregate your cups and cartons from other waste streams. This is why you need to work with a specialist waste collection company like us, because we will help you segregate your waste streams correctly. We will provide the right container in the right place, and then collect and consolidate the cups for you, so that the recycling system is efficient and cost effective.
Cawleys only work for businesses, we don’t do household collections, and we understand the importance of making waste collection as quick, easy and cost effective as possible. We also know how important it is to have proper lines of reporting, so that you and your staff are confident that any waste from the business is being dealt with properly.
We provide monthly reports describing how much waste we have collected from you, and how we have re-processed it for you so that you have complete peace of mind.
Capturing the calorific value of the cup itself
Every item of waste has some energy within it, known as its calorific value. We capture the value in coffee cups by creating second life uses for it.
Recycling and re-use is best
'Waste to energy’ is a last resource, because we believe it is better to save materials and re-use them whenever possible. For example, some metals are infinitely recyclable, so it would be shocking to burn say, a tin can for energy and never have that material available again. This approach has been visualised in the waste hierarchy you can see below. Waste includes valuable resource such as coffee cups that should be recycled to create new products.