Compostable & Biodegradable Takeaway Cups

Vero’s Commitment Towards Environmentally Friendly Takeaway Cups

At Vero, we are committed to playing our part to protect the environment, we recognise that sustainability plays an important role when choosing what products to supply to our customers. Currently, we have both compostable and standard takeaway cups available, but we have made a decision, and take it a step further, so by end of 2019, we will only supply takeaway cups which are 100% compostable and 100% biodegradable to our consumers. The compostable cups we supply are made from natural, sustainable and renewable resources such as Ingeo PLA and Sugar Cane Fiber.

An estimated 20 million trees are cut down every year to produce disposable paper coffee cups, our current compostable cups are made from paper with PLA lining, but as we continue our journey of using more environmentally friendly single-use cups,  our aim is to supply 100% compostable cups that one made from Bamboo, completely TREE free by 2020.

How to Recycle Compostable Cups Properly?

There is still a lot of confusion around whether the compostable cups are recyclable, and what bin can you put them into?

The composting process can only occur in a controlled environment. Compostable products need exposure to moisture, oxygen and bacteria in order to break down — not the conditions of a landfill. By throwing compostable cups in recycling bins or in general waste, the vast majority of them end up in landfills or incinerators.

Never place compostable plastic into the recycling with other plastics; as it is designed to break down it cannot be recycled and contaminates recyclable plastics.

So the compostable cups can be recycled with your garden and food waste through your local authority (Brown Bin) or in composting bins.

Biodegradable is the disintegration of materials by bacteria, fungi, or other biological means. It is commonly associated with environmentally-friendly products, capable of decomposing back into natural elements. There is no defined time limits for the term “biodegradable” as a number of factors determine the rate at which this degradation occurs. Factors include light, water, oxygen and temperature.

It’s estimated that only 1 in 400 cups and lids are actually recycled or composted correctly at the moment, recyclable and compostable options are only truly beneficial if they end up, and are processed, in the correct waste facility.

There is no single right answer to solve the problem of single-use items. However, by investing in more sustainable materials, and putting the right infrastructures in place, we can all play a part in ensuring as many single-use items as possible are diverted from the landfill and incineration. Small moves can make big changes.

Materials Explained

Polylactic Acid (PLA) Ingeo PLA is manufactured by NatureWorks LLC in USA. Using plants to transform greenhouse gases into sugars (dextrose) that go through a processing cycle to produce Polylactide Polymer called Ingeo. Ingeo is used to make a vast number of products, one of those being crystal clear plastic packaging that looks and feels like traditional plastic packaging. The production of Ingeo uses less resources than that of traditional oil-based PET or PS plastics. Ingeo PLA products can be commercially composted which results in complete decomposition and biodegradation.

Bagasse Sugarcane is a bi product of sugar cane fiber which is left after the juice has been extracted from the sugar cane. The fine paper pulp is put into moulds and pressurised in a high heat process to make environmentally-friendly packaging. Since sugarcane is a renewable plant, its bi-product, Bagasse, is a great raw material to make products including tableware products, bowls, plates, clamshells and containers etc.