Rail company cleans up its act by recycling coffee cups

Chiltern Railways has announced that it is to be the first train operator in the UK to recycle coffee cups at its stations as it looks to reduce plastic waste.

Currently, across the UK, just one in 400 of the 2.5bn disposable cups used each year is recycled. With this in mind, Chiltern said it had decided to tackle the issue as part of its commitment to addressing environmental challenges.

It said it hoped its move would set the new standard for British train operators.

The train company will work in partnership with Simply Cups – the only dedicated and workable cup recycling scheme currently operating in the UK.

The difficulty up until now is that the cups are fused with polyethylene to make them waterproof, however, this material cannot be separated out again at a standard recycling mill.

The new scheme will see the installation of special bins on stations to encourage customers to segregate their coffee cup waste into three different categories – lids, liquids and cups. Collecting the cups as soon as the consumer has finished their drink minimises contamination; the waste will be removed by Simply Cups and taken to a specialist recycling centre to be given a second life and turned into functional new products like pens and notepads, which Chiltern plans to incorporate into its branded merchandise.

Alan Riley, Customer Services Director for Chiltern Railways, said: “With the knowledge that over 2.5 billion paper cups are making their way into landfills and incineration each year, we feel it is important to play our part. We are creating a new template for the rail industry and providing our customers with a way to reduce their plastic waste. This scheme is unprecedented at stations and we’re proud to be championing it on behalf of our customers and generations to come”

The scheme is part of Chiltern’s ongoing 2018 Continuous Improvement Plan, which will see a range of customer-led investments made at stations and onboard trains. So far, £2m has been invested to install new ticket vending machines at stations. The plan also includes a £1.5m investment in on-station and on-train enhancements which will be announced throughout the year.