Our Environmental Pledge

Current Issues

At Benders we aim to address all the current environmental issues head on in order to provide our customers with all the information they need.

The focus on paper cup recycling has progressed a long way from the media headlines of 2016, a time when paper hot cups were singled out as the scape goat for all that was believed to be bad in disposable packaging.

 

Today the agenda has become very much broader and informed to cover all types of packaging. Recycling as a whole, and ‘plastics’ lead the argument now.

 

Our industry has done lots to address the questions that were raised. There are over 4000 individual collection points on the High Street where consumers can return their used paper cups to get them into recycling wastes streams. In addition there are over 400 Bring-Banks, where used paper hot cups are collected alongside other beverage cartons. Click Here to find your nearest ACE bring-bank.

 

Today the UK has enough paper mill recycling capacity to reprocess every paper hot cup supplied into the market.

 

The political focus continues to move forward.

 

Previous acceptors of UK (and European) waste (eg China) have imposed significant restrictions on waste they will recycle. 

The EU Circular Economy Directive has been published together with stretching recycling targets. The EC Directive on Single Use Plastics is circulated for consultation.

 

Within the UK, Scotland is pursuing the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme, Wales is favouring Extended Producer Responsibility, as is Northern Ireland. England has issued a Call for Evidence on Single Use Plastics through the Treasury, and is looking at both a  Deposit Return Scheme and reform of the Packaging Recovery Note system to embrace Extended Producer Responsibility. All of these involve a great deal of complex and detailed argument and investigation ongoing.

 

Benders is a leader working across all the key industry groups and associations to lobby national and regional government to deliver a consistent, consolidated, approach to delivery of the infrastructure necessary to allow used paper hot cups to be collected from the consumer and taken to the paper mills that are already able to recycle them.

 

For more specific answers to your questions checkout our FAQ section

Our Commitment

As a paper based company of over 100 years standing we have always appreciated the natural cycle of sustainability and circular economy.

 

We are committed to the continual improvement in our environmental impact whilst conducting our day to day business.

 

We are actively involved in influencing the industry wide response to environmental challenges and opportunities across the foodservice market.

 

All Benders paper cups are manufactured at our North Wales BRC A+ Grade factory, they can all be recycled after use.

Our Responsibility

All our paperboard is derived from Programme for Endorsement of Forestry Certification (PEFC) certified managed forestry resources, the largest such audited programme in the world, and in full compliance with EU Timber Regulations 995/2010, click for PEFC.

For every tree we use 3-4 new trees are planted. Forests are the lungs of the earth. Global forestry captures 15% of CO2. 1.6bn people across the globe rely on forestry for their livelihoods . Two out of three land species rely on forests.

We were the first European manufacturer to use water based inks.

We led the introduction of compostable board paper cups into the UK market.

Paper cups are the most sustainable and safe solution for drinks on-the-go.

Our manufacturing facility is zero waste to landfill, 99% is recycled and 1% is energy from waste.

We have audited compliance with SMETA 4 Pillar.

We are a member of the Climate Change Levy.

We apply a manufacturing traceability code to the base of every cups so we can following it right back to where the tree was grown.

For every tree we use 3-4 new trees are planted. Forests are the lungs of the earth. Global forestry captures 15% of CO2. 1.6bn people across the globe rely on forestry for their livelihoods . Two out of three land species rely on forests.

We were the first European manufacturer to use water based inks.

We led the introduction of compostable board paper cups into the UK market.

Paper cups are the most sustainable and safe solution for drinks on-the-go.

Our manufacturing facility is zero waste to landfill, 99% is recycled and 1% is energy from waste.

We have audited compliance with SMETA 4 Pillar.

We are a member of the Climate Change Levy.

We apply a manufacturing traceability code to the base of every cups so we can following it right back to where the tree was grown.

We use PEFC certified paperboard from sustainably managed forests

We use virgin fibre paperboard in our paper cups, this is a renewable, natural resource. Our paper cups contain at least 94% paperboard, there is also a thin coating applied to board. The coating is necessary to prevent the paperboard from absorbing the liquid contained and so collapsing.

Our broadest ranges of paper cups use a coating of polyethylene plastic (PE), like the paper board itself this is also recyclable.

 

We also have a narrower range of paper cups manufactured from a compostable board.

 

You can rely on Benders to make the right environmental choices across our entire product range. Our position on ethical sourcing and the environment has been long established, and is constantly being developed. We are committed to the development of paper cups manufactured using game changing non-fossil fuel based, environmentally friendly, coatings to replace those currently used. To be both fully sustainable in material sourcing, and fully recyclable through the existing UK paper recycling infrastructure. We are leading the market development in this field.

Benders Paper Cups is in the vanguard of change across the paper cup industry, a founding member of a number of trade bodies striving to achieve UK wide access and recycling of paper cup. The virgin fibre in Benders paper cups is a very valuable resource, and if correctly recovered back to reprocessing facilities it can be reused up to seven times.

 

But, where it is not possible to recover and reprocess then using compostable cups sent to industrial in-vessel facilities may be a viable option.

 

In this way we believe our customers can trust Benders as a ‘voice of reason’ within what is an important, but still developing area of business.

 

Through the combined actions which Benders has been involved with across all these Groups paper cups can and are being recycled. It is no longer something to wish for, to make it happen can be as simple as asking your current waste contractor.

The ground breaking Paper Cup Recovery and Recycling Group (PCCRG) is a voluntary body dedicated to increasing the recovery and recycling of paper cups. It has more than 40 members from across the supply chain including paper board manufacturers, paper cup manufacturers, distributors, coffee retail brands, waste, recycling and reprocessing companies, local authorities and NGO bodies including litter organisations. Benders Paper Cups is a founder member of this group. The PCRRG work to deliver its manifesto goal that “by 2020 the majority of the UK population will have access to facilities that enable paper cups to be recycled”, and supported establishing over 4000 used cup collection points in the last year. This has been matched by the development of reprocessing facilities that now have adequate capacity to recycle every paper hot cup placed on the market. We are actively involved across all of the PCRRG infrastructure projects.

 

For more details of the PCRRG, click here.

FPA

In the wider foodservice market place Benders Paper Cups are represented directly on the Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA) Environment Committee. The FPA has been leading the industry debate on Packaging Recovery Note Reform and Producer Responsibility across all forms of foodservice packaging.
We have always recognised the different market model which drives the vending channel, and we have supported this through active participation in the Automatic Vending Association (AVA), and leading its Cup and Environment Committee over the last few years.

 

For more details of FPA, click here.

Benders Paper Cups is a founding supporter of Simply Cups, now offering a nearly national paper and plastic cup collection and recycling service. In direct contact with the customer, they will work to provide segregated waste streams to ensure the recycling of the used cups.

 

For more details of Simply Cups, click here.

Benders is also a member of the Paper Cup Alliance (PCA), an industry group representing the UK’s eight main paper cup manufacturers and suppliers in the UK. It is this Group that has been instrumental in the agreement which now exist with the Beverage Cartons Association enabling used paper cups to be thrown away alongside drinks cartons in 426 Bring Banks operating across 109 Local Authorities, and through this creating the first value in the waste stream for used paper cups, and this will continue to develop as it expands into Kerbside collection.

How our paper cups are recycled?

We have made it simple for you to see the life cycle of our paper cups, from certified forestry through to how our paper cups can and are being recycled, take a look our infographic now.

View our range

View our range of paper cup products.