Greenogue company creates first recyclable

A GREENOGUE based company have created what they say is the world's first recyclable-use disposable coffee cup.

Zeus have launched the Leaf Cup - which combines a fully recyclable plastic inner with a heat absorbing fully recyclable outer paper layer.

The move is in response to an increase in the use of compostable paper cups in recent years.

"Currently about 500 billion coffee cups are dumped every year which end up in landfill, incineration, or in many cases end up going back to companies in the Far East," said Brian O'Sullivan, CEO of Zeus.

"In Ireland, we estimate that we dispose of over 200 million of these non-recyclable cups annually. These cups are normally a combination of paper and a plastic inner coating which makes them virtually impossible to be recycled.

"Over the last four or five years there has been a big move to find something different, and a lot of the move has been towards a compostable product

"However, most of these compostable cups arrive at landfill where composting doesn't occur. Very few cafes or premises have compost bins and therein lies the problem. Its estimated that less than one per cent of these compostable cups are being composted properly."

The Leaf Cup utilises an ‘easy-tear’ strip in the outer paper layer which makes it easy for the cup user to separate the plastic and paper elements which are independently recyclable.

O’Sullivan says tests have proven the Leaf Cup to be every bit as effective as standard double wall cups when it comes to handling hot beverages, eliminating the need for a separate paper cup sleeve.

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