Eco packaging firm Vegware have released a new film offering a solution to the problem of coffee cups recycling in the UK.

The animation responds to recent news that under 1 in 400 disposable cups are recycled, with 7 million sent to landfill daily, as highlighted by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s War on Waste. The film outlines that combining card and plastic creates a recycling problem, and the only solution to zero waste in foodservice is recycling compostable packaging together with food waste.

Vegware’s Group Recycling Consultant Eilidh Brunton says, “It’s not just cups – recycling is a major challenge for all conventional foodservice disposables. Compostable packaging is an existing and real solution, already in use in offices, universities and hospitals across the UK. One large Canary Wharf office composts 2.3 tonnes of used compostable packaging each month; Cambridge University diverts 1.5 tonnes a month to a local composter. In response to huge demand following the media attention, we will now be setting up new trade waste routes all around the UK for compostable packaging and food waste.”

Vegware makes completely compostable catering disposables from renewable or recycled plant-based materials, all of which can be recycled with food waste. Vegware’s Food Waste Network is a free matchmaking service pairing businesses with their ideal food waste recycling. Vegware’s in-house environmental team offer waste consultancy and full support to businesses going zero waste, including staff engagement and bespoke bin signage shown to reduce bin contamination by 42%.

Vegware’s Eco Audits quantify the carbon savings of switching to plant-based materials; in 2015 Vegware’s customers collectively saved over 3,500 tonnes of carbon, the equivalent of cancelling the carbon from 6,093 flights from London to New York.

Managing Director Joe Frankel founded the firm in 2008. “It has been a fantastic journey. When we started, sustainability was a niche concern. Now Vegware’s eco catering disposables are used at 50% of the UK’s universities, swathes of Canary Wharf, and at corporate restaurants and artisan cafes all around the UK. We’re also active in 5 continents.”

Winner of 60 awards for sustainability and innovation including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, Vegware is proof that eco is no longer niche.