A new collection and recycling programme for out-of-home food & beverage packaging was the focal point of a recent meeting in Dublin organised by Pack2go Europe, a European association for foodservice packaging manufacturers.
The gathering was attended by around 40 business leaders from across Europe and included representatives of the Irish packaging waste management sector and the Irish retail sector, as well as well-known brands, such as McDonald's and Starbucks.
The aim is, according to Mike Turner of Graphic Packaging International Foodservice Europe and President of Pack2Go Europe, to develop a scheme in Ireland to collect used cups and other beverage containers and have them sorted and recycled.
According to a 13 July statement by Pack2go, the participants agreed that a feasibility study should be launched in the autumn to “get a pilot scheme rolling”.
No further detail was provided on what the scheme includes.
The initiative aims to scale up the pilot programme and extend it to the whole country in due course.
The move is in response to calls by Irish businesses to move to compostable cups.
To that end, new infrastructure should be set up and consumers should be made aware of compostability or recyclability of products.