The challenge of recycling paper coffee cups has long been understood. The infrastructure exists. The technology exists. What has been missing, in many cases, is participation — and a system that connects collection, recovery, and reuse in a meaningful way.

A new initiative involving James Cropper, Little Coffee Cup, and Carlisle United Football Club offers a real-world example of how that gap can begin to close.

At the center of the project is James Cropper’s CupCycling process, which enables PE-lined paper cups—traditionally considered difficult to recycle—to be recovered and reintroduced into the paper supply chain. While the company’s facility has the capacity to upcycle hundreds of millions of cups annually, actual recovery volumes remain far lower, highlighting a persistent disconnect between capability and consumer behavior.

This initiative aims to address that disconnect by bringing circularity into a live, public environment.

A circular system in action

The project builds on the launch of Little Coffee Cup’s Big Surprise, a children’s book produced using paper derived from recycled coffee cups. Now, that concept is being extended into a working system at Carlisle United’s Brunton Park stadium.

Over the course of several home matches, used cups are being collected on-site, creating a direct link between consumption and recovery. The effort is supported by a network of partners, each playing a defined role in the process.

co-cr8 has provided branded collection bins to drive engagement within the stadium, while CupPrint produced custom PE-lined cups used during matches. John Watt and Son, the club’s catering partner, supplies and serves the cups, and North West Recycling (NWR) manages collection, baling, and tracking of returned material.

Once collected, the cups are transported back into the recycling stream, where James Cropper processes the recovered fibre through its CupCycling™ technology. The material is then used to produce new paper for future Little Coffee Cup products—completing a closed-loop system.

From concept to participation

What makes this initiative notable is not just the technology, but the coordination required to make it work.

“With millions of disposable cups used annually in the UK, initiatives such as this demonstrate how coordinated action across supply chains, supported by community engagement, can contribute to more effective material recovery,” says Hayley Slack, author of Little Coffee Cup. “By linking storytelling with infrastructure and local partnerships, the project illustrates how circularity can be embedded not only in products, but in the systems that support them.”

That coordination extends from product design to collection logistics and end-use applications—an approach that reflects how circular systems must operate in practice.

Stephanie Walker, head of technical at James Cropper, notes that regional collaboration is key. “By combining local expertise, venue-based collection, and specialist recycling capability, the project provides a tangible example of how materials can be captured, processed, and reintroduced into manufacturing cycles within a defined geographic ecosystem,” she says.

Closing the loop—at scale

For the label and packaging industry, the implications are familiar. Sustainability is no longer just about materials—it is about systems. Even the most advanced recyclable substrates require infrastructure, participation, and alignment across the value chain to deliver meaningful impact.

This project highlights both the opportunity and the challenge. The technology to recycle coffee cups is already in place. The remaining hurdle is driving consistent collection and return.

By bringing circularity into a setting where people already gather—and consume—this initiative offers a practical model for how that can be achieved.

It is not simply a demonstration of what is possible, but a working example of how circular systems can be built, tested, and scaled in real-world environments.