{"id":897373,"date":"2026-04-16T06:15:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T06:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/897373\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T06:15:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T06:15:28","slug":"single-use-coffee-cup-trial-begins-in-the-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/897373\/","title":{"rendered":"Single-use coffee cup trial begins in the capital"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new scheme with rubbish bins for recycling\u00a0takeaway cups<\/a>\u00a0are being piloted in\u00a0Edinburgh following a successful pilot in Dundee and Glasgow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are new bins installed at strategic points throughout the city, such as Market Street,\u00a0Waverley Bridge<\/a>, and\u00a0Haymarket<\/a>\u00a0Station, to collect\u00a0single-use plastic cups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bins will test the effectiveness of on-street cup recycling and aim to curb the amount of waste caused by single-use coffee cups, of which an estimated\u00a0388 million are used in Scotland every year<\/a>, with only 4% being recycled.<\/p>\n

Bins have also been installed in stores such as Caff\u00e8 Nero, Costa Coffee, McDonald\u2019s and Greggs\u00a0in the city centre, Leith, Stockbridge, Tollcross, and the Southside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Edinburgh Cup Movement was joined by representatives from Greggs, McDonald\u2019s, Costa Coffee, and Starbucks at a campaign launch (C) Edinburgh Cup Movement<\/p>\n

More than 30 stores in Edinburgh\u00a0are\u00a0participating\u00a0in Take It Back, allowing customers to\u00a0take a single-use cup\u00a0back to\u00a0any of the above retailers to be recycled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heather McLaughlin, Keep Scotland Beautiful\u00a0campaigns manager, said: \u201cSingle-use cups make up a huge percentage of the items polluting Scotland\u2019s environment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than half of people in Scotland (59%) often see littered single-use cups.\u00a0In Edinburgh alone a recent bin audit of on-street bins outside Waverley Station\u00a0found that single-use cups made up 59% of the\u00a0drinks\u00a0waste.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that these single-use products are already ending up as litter.\u00a0We need to address our over consumption of single-use products and\u00a0make an effort\u00a0to choose\u00a0reusable\u00a0options.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, we know that\u00a0reuse\u00a0is not always possible\u00a0or practical.\u00a0This scheme will make it easier for people who use single-use cups to ensure they are recycled properly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A full map of the bins is available on the\u00a0Keep Scotland Beautiful website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The initiative is part of a collaboration between the City of Edinburgh Council and the National Cup Recycling Scheme.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The \u201cCup Movement\u201d campaign in Edinburgh hopes to build upon\u00a0previous\u00a0recycling schemes in Glasgow and Dundee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cllr Stephen Jenkinson,\u00a0City of Edinburgh Council\u2019s\u00a0environment convener,\u00a0said: \u201cIncreasing recycling rates in the city is one of our key priorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0important we support targeted projects like this to make it\u00a0easier\u00a0for people to dispose of takeaway cups, which have become so popular in recent\u00a0years\u00a0and the prominent locations of these\u00a0three new\u00a0dedicated bins\u00a0will hopefully do that.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d also always encourage residents and visitors buying a regular\u00a0cuppa\u00a0to wherever possible take their own cup into takeaway stores to cut down on the need to use the disposable ones at all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Typical single-use hot drink cups cannot go into standard recycling bins or be recycled at home, so must be deposited in dedicated single-use cup recycling bins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hannah Osman, national cup recycling manager at Valpak Ltd,\u00a0said: \u201cTransport hubs are some of the highest footfall locations in Scotland, and we know from our data that a significant volume of single-use cups\u00a0are\u00a0consumed on the go.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy targeting key commuter routes, this trial allows us to test how dedicated infrastructure in the right locations can capture more material and significantly increase recycling rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough this partnership,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0using real-time data and evidence from\u00a0previous\u00a0trials to understand what works, measure contamination levels, track capture rates, and build a scalable model for on-street cup recycling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is simple: make cup recycling visible,\u00a0convenient\u00a0and data-driven so it can be rolled out effectively across other cities in Scotland and beyond.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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