7-Eleven Australia has joined the war on waste, partnering with Simply Cups to offer its customers the world’s first reusable coffee cup made out of recycled takeaway coffee cups.
The rCUP retails for $15 and is made from six recycled takeaway coffee cups collected by Simply Cups in the UK. It is 100 per cent leak proof and fully insulated.
The retailer has also placed recycle bins for plastic straws, takeaway coffee cups and Slurpee-style cups at over 200 7-Eleven stores across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.
Founder of Simply Cups Rob Pascoe said to manufacture the rCUPs locally, Australians need to recycle their takeaway cups and straws.
“We have a new partnership with a company that has developed cutting-edge technology to recycle plastic waste into a dough-like plastic material that can be moulded into new products including rCUPs, furniture and car park bumpers,” he said.
“This locally developed technology is the first of its kind in the world and to continue to develop it we need the community’s help to recycle their takeaway cups and plastic straws.”
7-Eleven partnered with Simply Cups in March, launching an initiative to rescue takeaway cups from landfill. Since Simply Cups launched the program, 1.48 million cups have been collected and are being turned into car park bumpers, hospital trays and other products.
Angus McKay, 7-Eleven CEO said he believes the company has a responsibility to find a solution to plastic ending up in landfill.
“A problem this size requires multiple solutions and we want to drive a behaviour change and help people dispose of their takeaway cups and straws responsibly,” he said.
“Our goal is to change the way the community thinks about recycling and we have seen that consumers are getting on board. We encourage all Australians to recycle any brand of takeaway coffee cups or straws at the dedicated recycling bins at 7-Eleven stores.”
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