M&S Food launches 100% paper, plastic-free and easily recyclable takeaway coffee cup
M&S Food has become the first major high street coffee retailer to offer its takeaway coffee and hot drinks in 100% paper, plastic-free, and easily recyclable coffee cups.
New to market, the cup is now available across 20 sites including M&S Cafés, vended coffee points, and marketplaces within M&S Foodhalls, including Stratford City, London, Leeds White Rose and Cheshunt. It will also be rolled out to every M&S Café in the coming months.
The move follows the retailer’s introduction of its unique paper fibre lids earlier this year which M&S said have been well received by customers.
Currently, regular paper coffee cups cannot be easily recycled due to the thin layer of plastic coating on the inside that stops contents from seeping into the paper. As a result, coffee cups cannot go into household recycling and to date have required specific takeback schemes and specific recycling processes, operated by only a small number of recyclers in the UK.
M&S has a target of removing one billion units of plastic from the packaging of its food business, and last year removed 75 million units.
Alex Freudmann, managing director at M&S Food, said: “With one in every two of us visiting a coffee shop several times a week the long-lasting damage coffee cups can have on the planet without being properly recycled is huge. That’s why we were determined to bring a sustainable alternative to what’s out there today, and we’re proud to offer customers the first fully recyclable coffee cup on the high street.”
