Network Rail introduces coffee cup recycling: passengers encouraged to Sip, Save and Recycle to help make stations greener - Network Rail
Region & Route: National
- Network Rail installs 32 coffee cup recycling bins at seven of Britain’s biggest and busiest stations
- Cup recycling facilities in all 20 managed stations by the end of October, after YouGov poll reveals that less than a third (30%) of Brits who buy coffee while travelling recycle their cup properly, using a recycling bin specifically for paper/coffee cups
- Initiative forms part of Network Rail’s ambitions to make stations cleaner and greener
Coffee loving commuters are being encouraged to Sip, Save and Recycle their cups in Britain’s biggest and busiest stations, as Network Rail rolls out the first of their new coffee cup recycling bins at King’s Cross, Leeds, London Bridge, Waterloo, Liverpool Street, Charing Cross and Cannon Street.
As passenger numbers slowly increase and with 60% of station retailers now open, those travelling by train or visiting the stations can make use of the bright orange bins to recycle any paper coffee cups purchased during their journey.
Recycled cups are turned into upcycled reusable cups and other products including tissue and packaging, reducing waste and encouraging a circular economy.
Partnering with environmental charity Hubbub and working closely with waste provider, Interserve, Network Rail will be installing specially designed bins at all managed stations - including Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads, Edinburgh Waverley, Manchester Piccadilly and 11 London stations - by the end of October.
The rollout comes as a new YouGov study commissioned by Network Rail reveals that consumers want to recycle cups but often do not know how:
- 58 per cent use either a waste bin or general recycling bin to recycle cups despite these systems being unable to manage paper cups; almost a quarter (23 per cent) of those who use a general recycling bin did not realise that coffee or paper cups should be recycled in specific bins.
- Only 3 in 10 adults (30 per cent) who purchase a cup of coffee while travelling reported that they use a bin specifically designed for recycling coffee cups once they have finished with it.
- Of those who don’t tend to recycle paper cups, just over half (52 per cent) say it’s because there isn’t anywhere available for them to do so throughout their journey, while 21 per cent feel that public recycling facilities are inadequate.
The initiative follows Network Rail’s launch of their new sustainability strategy, which includes ambitions to make stations greener.