Are your hot cups and soup cups recyclable?

Today, very few communities recycle paper hot cups of any type. This is because separating the cups’ film lining from the paper can be difficult and because food contamination can decrease the value of the material.

Hot cups in our GreenStripe® line (i.e., GreenStripe, WorldArt, Slate, This Is Why) are made with renewable resources. These cups are made with paper from trees harvested in North America; they are lined with PLA, a plant-based plastic. They are certified to be commercially composted after use. If you are not lucky enough to have a commercial composter in your area, these cups should be sent to the landfill.

Hot cups in our BlueStripe™ line (i.e., BlueStripe, Evolution World) are made with post-consumer paper fiber and a polyethylene lining. To our knowledge, our 24% post-consumer fiber is the highest percentage of post-consumer material in this type of cup! These cups are not compostable, and because of the challenges mentioned above with recycling paper hot cups, they are not recyclable in most communities either. Eco-Products is participating in industry initiatives aiming to increase the recyclability of hot cups and other foodservice packaging. We hope that one day soon, diverting these products from the landfill will be the norm and not the exception.