British master papermaker James Cropper has announced a trial recycling partnership with McDonald’s UK, as the two explore pioneering moves in sustainability and recycling.

The partnership will enable paper cups used in McDonald’s restaurants across the UK, every week, to be recycled at James Cropper’s state-of-the-art reclaimed fibre plant –turning previously non-recyclable, plastic-coated paper cups into new paper products.

Richard Burnett, market development manager at James Cropper, said: “It’s estimated that up to 2.5 billion paper cups are used in the UK every year. Most of these are currently not recycled as, being polyethylene-coated, they can’t be recycled amongst ordinary household waste. In addition, collecting used paper cups for recycling has been problematic due to the nature of their use – they’re used on the go and are often taken away from the place of purchase. The partnership with McDonald’s has been nearly  years in the making.”

Helen McFarlane, sustainability consultant at McDonald’s UK, added: “Paper cups constitute about 30% of our packaging waste and this is a great opportunity to ensure that the quality fibre used in making those cups gets another life”.