Network Rail has launched new coffee cup recycling bins at some of their busiest railway stations.

The new coffee cup recycling bins have been installed at King’s Cross, Leeds, London Bridge, Waterloo, Liverpool Street, Charing Cross and Cannon Street.

Passengers numbers are slowly increasing across the network and around 60% of station retailers are now open again following lockdown earlier this year.

The new bright orange bins encourage passengers to recycle their cups which will be upcycled into other cups, tissue and packaging.

The new coffee cup recycling bins will be installed at more stations including Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads, Edinburgh Waverley, Manchester Piccadilly and 11 London stations – by the end of October.

The rollout involves a partnership with environmental charity Hubbub and working closely with waste provider, Interserve.

Jo Lewington, Chief Environment and Sustainability Officer at Network Rail, said: “We know that more of our passengers want to do their bit for the environment and recycling is an easy way for them to get involved. So, as we start to welcome passengers back in ever increasing numbers, we’re working harder than ever to ensure our stations are not only cleaner, but also greener.

“By installing accessible, easy-to-use cup recycling bins across our managed station network this year, we’re helping our passengers to reduce their waste with a simple message – “Sip, Save and Recycle”. We believe the initiative will go a long way to supporting the circular economy and making our stations more sustainable.”

Gavin Ellis, Director and Co-Founder of Hubbub, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Network Rail on the introduction of these new cup recycling points. Cups can be easily recycled but, because they have a plastic lining that stops hot drinks from leaking, they need to be collected separately from other recycling. There is now plenty of capacity to recycle cups in the UK; what is needed is more infrastructure to collect the cups in high footfall places, so train stations are the ideal location. Our support for this initiative was made possible with funding from the Starbucks 5p cup charge, which Hubbub uses to make it easier and simpler for the public to recycle the cups they use, as well as promoting the use of reusable cups.”

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