In 2019, WestRock’s answer to a recyclable hot cup was named a winner of the NextGen Cup challenge. Here, we go behind the scenes of developing this innovative barrier technology and hear what’s next for the holy grail of the easily recycled hot cup.
As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of all invention; and world-changing
ideas start when there is an urgent need to address.
Each year, an estimated 16
billion
disposable coffee cups are used globally, the vast majority of which are,
contrary to what many people believe, nonrecyclable. As a packaging solutions
provider to some of the world’s largest beverage distributers, as well as a
recycling facility operator that manages about 8 million tons of product a year,
WestRock is in a promising position to help innovate the way forward for the
paper hot cup.
The problem with hot cups
When the average consumer goes to his, her or their local coffee shop to pick up
the usual, many don’t realize that the sometimes seemingly eco-friendly cup
can’t be thrown in the blue bin. This is because most single-use coffee cups are
either plastic or paper lined, with plastic to insulate and prevent them from
getting soggy and leaky when in use. This multi-layer makeup, although helpful
for the drinking experience, requires a more advanced recycling process; and
most communities in the United States and Canada aren't equipped to
handle this. In addition, these cups do not degrade easily and therefore
contribute to microplastic pollution.
That’s why WestRock decided a few years ago to invest in technology to develop a
fully recyclable cup. The impact this could have would be massive.
The NextGen Cup Challenge
Designing for Circularity-Friendly Behaviors
Join us as leaders from BBMG and REI examine how leading brands are innovating and scaling circular models to attract new fans and earn customer loyalty, all while eliminating waste — Thurs, May 9, at Brand-Led Culture Change.
Initial efforts began several years ago with
EnShield® —
our existing paperboard technology that withstands oil and grease applications
while being fully recyclable — to replace low-density polyethylene, a material
commonly used to line paper cups. Our research team began thinking through ways
to apply this innovative technology in the curved shape of a paper cup.
Then, in 2018, shortly after we’d already started down this innovation path, the
NextGen Consortium announced the
NextGen Cup Challenge. It was an open call to answer this question: “How
might we design the next generation fiber cup to be recoverable on a global
scale, while maintaining the performance standards we know and trust?”
This fueled our mission even more.
Although there were a few different ways of going about this, we ultimately
focused our efforts on creating a recyclable coating. This is not an easy task.
The coating needs to perform to existing standards and must be recyclable or
repulpable — or returned to a state of pulp to be crafted into a new fiber
product. We were looking for a chemical makeup that acted like the traditional
plastic lining but didn’t negatively impact recyclability when applied to fiber
products.
One particularly tricky challenge was that — to be stable — the coating had to
seal to itself at a certain temperature during the cup-forming process, but not
seal to itself in other parts of the production process or when sitting in hot
trucks during transportation. As many packaging experts know, this is a fine
line.
Another puzzle was considering all the stresses put on a cup during formation.
The material must withstand folding and forming into a specific shape. We worked
hard on the barrier chemistry to address all these technical challenges.
From over 480
teams from around
the world that entered the NextGen Cup Challenge, WestRock was
selected
as one of 12
winners
for our circular cup — a recyclable paperboard solution for hot or cold beverage
cup applications. The solution meets all current specifications in the paper cup
and foodservice industry while improving recoverability and enhancing the
recycling process for 98 percent fiber yield. Currently, a limited number of
paper mills accept poly-lined paper cups in North America. Our solution can be
recycled more easily across a broad set of paper mills, helping ensure more
high-quality fiber stays in circulation — which is good for the planet and the
paper industry.
We had an amazing team on this work — including our barrier scientist, Jay
Pang, as the technical team lead and senior researcher Natasha Melton on
the innovation team; with Julie Gannon, our director of R&D, heading up the
entire project. But many more individuals took part in this team effort, and I’m
so thankful to everyone who participated in this challenge.
Bringing the cup to market
Once the technology was developed, our next focus was on bringing the cup to
market. Consumer testing is a critical step in our innovation process; we do
this through select pilots in partnership with our customers. The learnings from
those tests inform subsequent, broader testing — allowing us to ultimately
scale the most promising
solutions.
We’ve been lucky to work with Tim Hortons as a brand partner for our pilot
cup, which is expected to
debut
soon at select Vancouver restaurants.
Continuing barrier research
WestRock is excited to continue exploring recyclable barrier technologies for a
myriad of other food containers. Ice cream pints, lined water cups and yogurt
cups, among others, all require specialized technology developed for the item’s
specific purpose. Each will have different formation processes and stressors,
meaning that the paperboard and coating should be developed and supported
slightly differently. We’re looking forward to addressing these challenges over
the next few years, ultimately working toward the ability to offer paper
alternatives to a wide variety of plastic cup needs.
In the meantime, I know I am not the only member of the team anticipating the
moment when we see our prototype out “in the wild,” so to speak. As the project
lead, Julie, mentioned recently, “To work on something for multiple years and
then to see someone walk out of a store holding it... it will be a tremendous
moment.”
Published Feb 17, 2022 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET
SVP, Science & Innovation
WestRock
Rajiv Banavali is the Senior Vice President of Science and Innovation at WestRock. Partnering with WestRock’s commercial, digital, marketing and innovation teams, Rajiv works to advance the company’s innovation strategy focused on environmental sustainability, breakthrough packaging design and the digitalization of packaging. With more than 30 years of experience, Banavali is an experienced technology leader with broad material science knowledge, experience in leading large technical teams across global markets, and expertise in driving complex sustainability-related initiatives.
Sponsored Content
/ This article is sponsored by
WestRock.
This article, produced in cooperation with the Sustainable Brands editorial team, has been paid for by one of our sponsors.