Biodegradable paper cups can now be composted as part of the Save a Cup collection scheme.
The Save a Cup scheme was set up by the vending, foodservice and plastics industries to collect biodegradable plastic cups from workplaces across the UK.
The new scheme, which started operating on 1 June, enables workplaces to send their used compostable cups to a network of industrial composting facilities.
Save a Cup general manager Graham Pascoe said this network was still being developed, but cup collection services are available in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Leicester and parts of Cambridgeshire.
He added that the Ecotainer cups had to be separated from other types of waste such as ordinary paper cups and drinks cans and disposed of in special Save a Cup bags, which are also compostable.
"The Ecotainer cups have to be segregated because the composting scheme has zero tolerance for contamination," he said.
Pascoe could not say what volume of cups would be collected in the scheme.
The Mars Flavia N-viro cup and the Bioware Cup from Huhtamaki are also being collected under the scheme. Others will come on stream once they have been put through a trial process.
The Paper Cup Company Sales Director, Mark Woodward, said the Save a Cup collection scheme was the first of its kind in the UK.
"We are keen to work with government agencies and other organisations to develop effective environmental processes, especially as Ecotainers come from a 100% renewable resource.
IP’s Ecotainer paper cups for hot for hot drinks, launched in 2007, have joined the firm's existing range of single-use cups, plates, and containers.
The bio-coated cups are certified in accordance with EN13432. The coating allows paper packaging to be composted in industrial composting facilities.
The virgin fibre raw material sourced by IP in America is from FSC forests and PEFC chain of custody certified.