Turning Over a New Leaf

Sustainability is no longer just a marketing angle for cafés and hospitality venues — it is increasingly a baseline expectation from customers, particularly in urban areas and with younger age groups. The disposables a venue uses are one of the most visible and most actionable areas to address: unlike energy use or supply chain sourcing, switching to more sustainable cups, lids, and straws is something that can be done in a single order. This guide covers the practical options available and what the terms actually mean.

Start With the Cup

The takeaway cup is where most café waste originates. Standard paper cups have a polyethylene (PE) plastic lining that prevents the paper from becoming saturated — but also makes the cup very difficult to recycle, as separating the plastic from the paper requires specialist facilities that most UK local authorities do not have.

There are two main sustainable alternatives:

Compostable Ingeo cups — the lining is made from Ingeo PLA, a plant-based polylactic acid derived from renewable resources rather than fossil fuels. These cups are certified compostable and can be processed at industrial composting facilities. We stock them in 8oz and 12oz double wall formats, available in cases of 500.

Plastic-free kraft ripple cups — instead of a plastic or PLA lining, these use an aqueous coating that is fully plastic-free. The triple-layer ripple construction also provides enough insulation to eliminate the need for a cup sleeve. These are the closest option to a fully paper-based cup and suit venues where the sustainable credentials of the product need to be visible and easy to communicate to customers.

Compostable Lids

Standard sip-through lids are made from polystyrene or polypropylene — both are technically recyclable but rarely collected through standard kerbside schemes. Switching the lid alongside the cup makes a meaningful difference to the overall sustainability of the serve.

We stock two compostable lid options:

• Bagasse sip-through lids — made from sugarcane pulp, fully plastic-free, available for 8oz (80mm rim) and 10oz–16oz (90mm rim) cups in cases of 1,000
• Compostable Ingeo lids — plant-based PLA, available in the same size range, designed to pair with Ingeo cups for a fully compostable cup-and-lid combination

Straws and Stirrers

Plastic straws have been banned in England since 2020, so most venues have already made this switch. The compliant options available from us include:

• Paper straws — standard and striped formats for hot and cold drinks
• Compostable PLA spoon straws — for milkshakes and thick blended drinks where a standard paper straw would not hold up
• Compostable natural white smoothie straws — larger diameter for blended drinks and smoothies
• Biodegradable wooden stirrers — the most cost-effective sustainable stirrer option, available in cases of 1,000 from £3.50

Reusable Cups

For dine-in service or customers who bring their own cup, HuskeeCup is worth stocking. Made from coffee husk — a byproduct of the milling process that would otherwise go to waste — it is one of the more genuinely sustainable reusable cup options on the market. Available in 8oz and 12oz in Natural and Charcoal, with a universal lid that fits all sizes.

What "Compostable" Actually Means

This is where it is worth being precise with customers. Compostable cups and lids require industrial composting conditions — the controlled temperature and humidity of a commercial composting facility — to break down within a reasonable timeframe. They do not break down meaningfully in general landfill, and they should not go into standard kerbside recycling bins.

If your local area has a food waste or organic waste collection that accepts compostable packaging, the switch is straightforward. If not, the practical advantage of compostable over standard PE-lined cups is primarily in the material sourcing (plant-based rather than fossil-fuel-based) rather than end-of-life disposal. Plastic-free aqueous-coated cups, which can be recycled with paper in many areas, may offer a more practical benefit for venues where industrial composting is not available locally.

Making the Switch

The simplest approach is to switch like-for-like: replace your current cup with a compostable or plastic-free equivalent in the same size and wall format, and swap the lid at the same time. Running both options simultaneously during a transition period tends to cause confusion at the counter — a clean switch in a single order is easier to manage.

Browse our full range of eco-friendly and compostable disposables including cups, lids, straws, and stirrers, or contact us for advice on the best sustainable setup for your venue's volume and waste collection arrangements.