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operators should be careful to address in their choice of vending cup r. Cup recyclability is a somewhat thorny issue, with a number of problems raised in the past couple of years over clarity of communication on packaging. In a recent Metro article, for example, leading coffee chains were accused of using the three arrow ‘recyclable’ logo on their paper cups when, in fact, they are not widely recyclable and have to go to one of only two specialist facilities in the UK in order to be broken down for reuse. This is the same for most paper hot beverage cups – although the paperboard itself is recyclable, the plastic lining that stops the cup getting soggy is not, and means that the cups are usually diverted to landfill or burned because the resources to send them to a specialist recycling facility are not available. What’s more, when public recycling bins are not readily available, consumers will throw their coffee cups in regular bins, and even when they throw them in dedicated recycling bins, they throw cold coffee, tea bags, lids and stirrers in too. An estimated 2.5 billion disposable paper cups are used in the UK each year, and the infrastructure – and indeed the motivation – does not currently exist to recycle this volume back into the supply chain. Guy Jaques, sales and marketing manager at Nupik-flo UK, spoke to VI about recycling from a plastic cup point of view. “The most are the plastic cups we produce editor Bryony Andrews. “The answer but some of the issue is how they are disposed of and if they’re ally recycled.”


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is 100%, of course, recyclable,” he told regular question is


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With recyc ng such a con en ous issue, many manufacturers are focusing on their manufacturing processes and the sourcing of their materials as a way to demonstrate their positive stance on


sustainability. Although yet to be introduced to the UK market, Nupik-Flo’s ‘hybrid’ products are widely used in automatic


vending machines across Europe. A mix of PS plastic with all-natural materials, these reduce the amount of plastic required to manufacture and in doing so reducing CO2 emissions. Guy continued: “Innovation is in the market place, but consideration has to be given to reliability and also cost effectiveness of the product for our customer base.” Cups which are manufactured using paperboard from PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) sustainably managed forests and with Chain of Custody


have been sustain a certification have b


een made using materials which bly sourced, and can be traced


through the entire supply chain to guarantee the provenance of the finished product. PEFC is a globally recognised standard of ethical sourcing of forestry raw materials and also complies with EU Timber Regulations. PEFC’s first global consumer survey found that 60%of people surveyed preferred


1 8


to purchase drinks packaged in recyclable, paper-based materials, believing that their choice to shop for PEFC-labelled products makes a positive difference to the world’s forests and reassuring them that


environmental considerations had been considered by the manufacturer. Adrian Pratt, marketing manager for UK manufacturer Benders Paper Cups, commented: “It is clear that packaging choices should be a core consideration for companies, as they have a positive effect on consumers’ purchasing decisions. We will continue


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to promote paper as the vending cup material of choice. ” Robert Webb, MD of distributor of vending machine components and spares Becktech, spoke to VI about the complexity of accurately vending cups from a dispensing machine. “The stack of cups may be different weights, materials and sizes. The machine is required to deliver a single cup on demand, as well as knowing when each stack of cups is running low and it needs to start a new one. For a machine to do that reliably, the cup needs to be consistently formed and within the


tolerances of the machine. A stack of cups that got slightly squashed in transit, has a badly formed rim, or a 71mm rim instead of 70mm just won’t work; the peeler within the machine won’t operate properly and you’ll end up with a jam.” It is important that operators consider all of the possible reasons for cup jam, Robert maintains.


enthusiasm for paper, orders for plastic cup s nevertheless remain steady, and the respective benefits of paper and plastic cups show that there is a place for both in the vending market. Ultimately, vending’s most important feature is still convenience – and this remains a constant in the industry across both paper and plastic .


Although there is a lot of consumer r,


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