Starbucks Is Testing Eco-Friendly Cups in the UK

Eco-conscious coffee drinkers in the UK can now feel a little bit better about filling up at Starbucks. The company recently began serving hot coffee and lattes in cups that are 100 percent recyclable, in a few test stores throughout the UK, The Guardian reports.

While Starbucks's standard cups are laminated with a light coating of plastic, the new recyclable coffee cups are made from frugalpac, a packaging that features a thin liner that can be easily recycled. Frugalpac was created with the hopes of cutting down the environmental impact and waste of nearly 2.5 billion paper cups that end up incinerated or in landfills each year in the UK.

After recent estimates showed that only 1 in 400 coffee cups were recycled in the country, environmental activists established the Paper Cup Recycling and Recovery Group. As part of the organization's efforts, many fast food chains like Starbucks and McDonald’s signed pledges to increase the use of recyclable paper cups by 2020.

"We are very interested in finding out more about the frugalpac cup and we will be testing it to see if it meets our standards for safety and quality, with a view to trialling its recyclability,” a spokesperson from Starbucks told The Guardian.

At the moment, it’s unclear if Starbucks will plan to expand use of the new recyclable coffee cups to the United States.

[h/t Eater]

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.