Martin Myerscough told the EAC that reducing waste was not a case of changing recycling infrastructure but was instead a case of changing the product.
“We need to introduce a cup that can be disposed of in any bin,” Myerscough said.
“We also need to educate consumers and increase awareness of the fact that conventional coffee cups aren’t currently being recycled, bringing to their attention that there is a solution out there – in the form of recyclable products that fit in with current consumer behaviour."
According to a recent Frugalpac poll, only one in 400 of the 2.5 billion disposable paper coffee cups used every year is recycled, the rest end up in landfill or are incinerated.
The data found that 18% of consumers believe over 50% of cups are recycled, but only 10% of consumers use specialist recycling facilities
Myerscough was called to speak at the parliamentary sessions along with other key industry stakeholders including Costa Coffee and Keep Britain Tidy.
The engineer and chartered accountant explained how his new take-away cup, which hits the market this month, would solve the ‘coffee cup crisis’.
He claims that his 'Frugal Cup' invention, made from recycled cardboard, can be processed by any UK paper recycling facility due to its manufacturing method.
“Frugal Cups can be disposed of in any paper or newspaper recycling bins, and recycled by any paper mill,” Myerscough added. “Not only are Frugal Cups made from recycled paper, the paper can be recycled and reused up to seven times.”