Starbucks will trial a fully recyclable coffee cup in its UK shops, which could eventually divert huge numbers of cups away from landfill.

The cup, invented by the entrepreneur and engineer Martin Myerscough, aims to reduce the environmental impact of the 2.5 billion paper coffee cups used in the UK each year. Earlier this year it emerged that only one in 400 were recycled and the rest sent to landfill or incineration. This led to calls for a ban, an idea the government rejected.

Conventional takeaway cups produced in bulk are made from paper but are laminated with plastic, making them difficult to recycle.

The Frugalpac cup, which launches on Thursday, has a thin film liner designed to separate easily from the paper in the recycling process. This leaves 100% paper, which can be recycled.

The cups will feature in a forthcoming television investigation by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. For his next War on Waste documentary, which airs on BBC1 on 28 July, the chef and campaigner has challenged major coffee shop chains to explain why more cups are not recycled and consumers not given better information about environmentally friendly disposal. But Starbucks, one of the UK’s largest coffee chains, is set to be the first retailer to test the product, saying it will trial the Frugalpac cup in some branches.

A Starbucks spokesman said: “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.”

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in his War on Waste documentary, which will feature the Frugalpac cup. Photograph: Gus Palmer/Keo Films / BBC

Myerscough said: “Hugh’s team approached us back in January to find out more about the cup, which was still in prototype form. We think Frugalpac will make a huge contribution to the solution and we’re looking forward to working with the industry to make this happen.”



In March the government watered down statutory plastic packaging recycling targets just days after high street coffee chains were criticised for allowing millions of coffee cups to end up in landfill.



Myerscough is in talks with coffee shop chains and supermarkets about using the cup, which will be manufactured in the UK, as their standard product. He said: “We’ve spent the last two years developing our cup and we hope now that coffee chains and cup producers will see Frugalpac as an answer to this issue.”

Fearnley-Whittingstall’s campaign has led to the industry setting up a Paper Cup Recycling and Recovery Group (PCRRG) to examine the issue in more detail. This includes a pledge to significantly increase paper cup recycling rates by 2020, which has been signed by 30 companies, including Caffè Nero, Costa, Starbucks, McDonalds, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Greggs and Pret a Manger.