Costa to take recycling logo off its paper cups

COFFEE chain Costa is to remove the recycling logo from its paper cups after agreeing the symbol had caused ‘confusion’ over whether the cups are being recycled.

Costa has faced pressure from consumers since it was revealed most discarded paper cups end up in landfill. Around 2.5billion cups a year are thrown away because their plastic lining makes them hard to recycle. Only two plants in the UK can manage it.

Yet Costa’s disposable cups have, until now, been branded with the Mobius loop, or three-arrow symbol, which most customers assume means they are easy to recycle. But the symbol does not guarantee recycling plants will accept the cups – simply that they could, in theory, be recycled.

Jason Cotta, managing director of Costa, said: ‘Costa’s takeaway cups and lids are recyclable. We do, however, agree that not enough takeaway cups are recovered and recycled and it is right that the industry as a whole is challenged to confront this issue.’

The issue has come to the fore through the Daily Mail Curb the Cups campaign and the work of the chef and anti-waste advocate Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.