Packaging company Detpak is working with American based company Smart Planet Technologies creating a takeaway cup, RecycleMe that it says will be accepted into the paper recycling stream.

These cups will be printed at Detpak’s Adelaide headquarters.  Detpak says 96 per cent of its RecycleMe cups can be made into paperback covers and cardboard boxes.

The current generation of printed takeaway coffee cups have a lining to prevent the coffee seeping out which means they cannot be recycled.

The RecycleMe cups are newly engineered, with a mineral based lining, exclusive for trial in Australia and New Zealand. The mineral lining technology will make the recycling process easier.

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Detpak says, “Our mission is to find a long-term viable solution for recycling paper cups. As all paper cups are made from strong cellulose fibres, the material can be recycled up to seven times. So, instead of sending cups to landfill or compost, they can be re-purposed into other paper or cardboard products over and over.”

Detpak says the common paper cup is lined with a membrane of plastic (PE) to make it waterproof. This means they are not easily recyclable in common recycling streams. PE cups are re-routed to rubbish, and are causing a significant impact to the volume of landfill in Australia and New Zealand.

The company says 50,000 cups are binned every 30 minutes in Australia and New Zealand.

Venues trialling the Detpak coffee cups include Melbourne Museum, Hawker St Café in Adelaide, Pilgrim Coffee, Bendigo Bank and Toby’s Estate Chippendale Café and Roastery. 

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