British company develops biodegradable coffee cup made of plant matter

A British company has developed a biodegradable coffee cup made out of plant matter.

The receptacles from Biome Bioplastics are comprised of plant starches and cellulose and can turn “into water and carbon dioxide within three months”.

It is the latest move in the war on the capital’s coffee waste. Across Britain, a total of 2.5 billion cups are thrown away every year.

These form thousands of tonnes of non-recyclable rubbish because facilities are unable to separate the inner plastic lining from the cardboard paper. Currently, just one per cent of cups can be recycled.

Biome Bioplastics said “in appropriate composting conditions” its cups and lids “will disappear to carbon dioxide and water within three months”.

Chief executive Paul Mines said the cups perform as well as petroleum-based plastics when it comes to heat and “stress”. The firm’s research shows that about two-thirds of Londoners wanted their coffee cups to be more eco-friendly.

Yesterday, another survey showed that just three of 25 chains questioned sold reusable cups across all of their stores. The same number offered customers an incentive to bring in their own cup.

Mr Mines said: “For such a simple product, disposing of a single coffee cup is a very complex problem.

“Coffee drinkers are acting in good faith when they see recycling logos on their takeaway coffees but most cups are lined with oil-based plastic and the lids made of polystyrene, making recycling impossible, even when placed in the right bin. The shocking amount of landfill waste shows the urgent need for big brands to accelerate work in new, sustainable materials.”

Bakery chain Paul has said it will give a 10p discount to anyone bringing in a reusable cup. Pret a Manger is offering 25p off until the end of this month, under a pilot scheme. Other initiatives include bins in the City for collecting disposable cups.

The initiative, co-ordinated by environmental charity Hubbub, is being funded by chains including Caffè Nero, Costa and Starbucks, all of which were criticised last year for misleading customers into believing their cups were eco-friendly.