Polypropylene Cups Earn Widely Recyclable Designation, Expanding Access to Curbside Recycling Nationwide

More than 60% of U.S. households can now recycle cold to-go cups curbside

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--More communities across the U.S. can now recycle cold to‑go cups, marking a major step toward reducing waste and building a more circular future. Thanks to the leadership of How2Recycle®, NextGen Consortium managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, The Recycling Partnership, Starbucks and WM, to‑go cups are entering a new era of recyclability.

Polypropylene beverage cups, commonly used for cold drinks, have earned the Widely Recyclable designation from How2Recycle®, North America’s most recognized on-pack disposal label. This milestone means more than 60% of U.S. households can recycle these cups through curbside programs or drop-off programs, helping reduce waste and improve recycling rates nationwide.

In the last four months, the collective effort across these organizations has helped add cold cup access to more than 2 million new households. Access has grown steadily increasing more than 10% over the last several years, reflecting an unprecedented level of collaboration across the industry.

This milestone reflects the combined efforts of partners across the value chain:

• The NextGen Consortium brought together major businesses, including Starbucks and others, to innovate solutions that advance the circularity of foodservice packaging.
• The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition has spent half a decade unlocking the potential of polypropylene recycling, investing in infrastructure, delivering best practice education guidance and providing extensive, real-time data on the recycling system.
• How2Recycle® applied its leadership in consumer-facing labeling standards to ensure clear guidance on recyclability.
• Starbucks leveraged its scale and commitment to more sustainable packaging to help accelerate adoption.
• As the largest recycler in North America, WM helped develop end markets with KW Plastics, built the recycling infrastructure to process cups effectively and created a clear pathway for communities to add cups to their curbside programs.

Together, these organizations are aligning design, infrastructure and consumer education and remain committed to improving recycling rates nationwide.

“Expanding access, improving infrastructure and strengthening consumer communications takes collaboration across the value chain,” said Paul Nowak, executive director of GreenBlue, the nonprofit behind the How2Recycle® program. “No single organization can do this alone. The work we’re doing today has benefits beyond any single material. By investing in infrastructure and consumer-tested communications, we’re driving industry and behavior change at scale.”

The Recycling Partnership’s State of Recycling Report shows households generate about as much polypropylene as high-density polyethylene, which is used in detergent, milk and shampoo bottles, yet polypropylene’s recycling rate is only one-third that of HDPE. Closing this gap is critical for a more sustainable future.

Every cup recycled means less plastic in landfills and waterways. Increasing acceptance and recovery reduces contamination, improves material quality and lowers demand for virgin resources. These efforts support global goals to cut waste and curb pollution.

“Achieving the Widely Recyclable designation for polypropylene cups is a significant milestone,” said Marika McCauley Sine, chief sustainability officer at Starbucks. “It reflects what’s possible when businesses, recyclers and communities work together to create solutions that can reduce waste and make recycling easier for customers who opt for to-go beverages. We’re committed to continuing our collective effort to build a circular system that can benefit people and the planet.”

While this milestone reflects meaningful progress, more work lies ahead to expand access for even more consumers across the U.S. Ongoing engagement will help residents include these items in their recyclables and strengthen the system for the future. Reaching 60% access is a big step forward but not the finish line.

Increasing cup recycling is complex and requires collaboration across the value chain, including continued leadership from organizations like the Foodservice Packaging Institute, which supports communities and recyclers in improving acceptance of foodservice packaging. Manufacturers and retail or food service businesses can improve cup design for recycling and commit to using more recycled content to build strong, sustainable end markets. Communities need support to update guidelines and provide consistent education to residents to help boost capture. Effective recycling policies also help the system function more smoothly. These pieces take time but together they will help move toward a system where every cup can be recycled, and actually is.

Additional Partner Quotes:

Closed Loop Partners

“This recycling designation change for polypropylene cups marks an important step forward for the circularity of foodservice packaging in the U.S. The Closed Loop Center for the Circular Economy, through our NextGen Consortium, is proud to be a part of this work and to celebrate this milestone alongside key industry leaders,” said Kate Daly, CEO of Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy. “Contributing to this work to make polypropylene cups widely recyclable is part of our broader work to accelerate the recovery, reuse and recycling of foodservice packaging. We look forward to continuing to expand recycling access for more packaging and materials –– a critical part of building a circular economy.”

KW Plastics

“KW Plastics is the world’s largest plastics recycler,” said Stephanie Baker, KM, Director of Advocacy & Marketing. “We provide a dependable domestic home for post-consumer polypropylene. We recycle this material every day in the United States and we see consistent demand from manufacturers who rely on high-quality recycled resin to make new products. Polypropylene has real value. It supports American manufacturing and plays a vital role in building a stronger, more resilient circular economy.”

“We have watched demand for post-consumer polypropylene grow steadily over the last decade as more companies shifted toward lighter and more efficient packaging,” said Stephanie Baker, KM, Director of Advocacy & Marketing. “That change increased the amount of polypropylene on store shelves and in recycling streams. It also created the need for strong domestic markets to keep this material from being exported at low value. By setting clear purchasing specifications and investing in the ability to recycle polypropylene at scale, we helped build a pathway that keeps this material in the United States where it can be reprocessed into something new.”

The Recycling Partnership

“This is meaningful progress for polypropylene recycling,” said Kate Davenport, Chief Impact Officer at The Recycling Partnership. “With 75.5 million households now able to recycle PPM cups, we’ve reached the threshold for on-pack labeling — a critical tool for building consumer understanding. It’s a first step worth commending. But access alone is not enough. Only 20 percent of PPM packaging is currently captured, and 76 percent of all recyclables are still lost at the household level. That’s why our focus remains on what it takes to move the system forward: clear communication, stronger engagement, and continued investment in communities. Backed by national recycling system data and close relationships with local recycling programs, we see both the gains and the gaps. The Partnership is committed to closing them.”

WM

“Plastic to‑go cups becoming recyclable curbside is a major milestone made possible by years of investment, innovation and collaboration,” said Tara Hemmer, chief sustainability officer, WM. “As the largest recycler in North America, we’re proud to help capture and recycle more of the everyday materials people rely on, and this achievement proves what’s possible when communities, companies and industry leaders come together to make recycling more accessible.”

About Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy

The Closed Loop Center for the Circular Economy is an innovation firm that helps global brands, retailers and manufacturers solve their most pressing material challenges. We’re built on the principle that a world without waste is not only an environmental necessity, it’s a path to profitable growth. The Closed Loop Center works across four focus areas: material innovation, reuse systems, recycling improvement and policy readiness. We are part of Closed Loop Partners, which also includes one of the largest privately held recycling companies in the U.S. and a leading global circular economy capital management group. Learn more at https://www.closedlooppartners.com/the-center/.

About GreenBlue

GreenBlue is an environmental nonprofit on a mission to accelerate the transition to a regenerative, just, and sustainable materials economy. GreenBlue is the parent nonprofit of projects, including the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, How2Recycle, and the Recycled Material Standard. Through these projects and their hundreds of members, GreenBlue strives to be the most reliable and accurate source of truth compelling the packaging value chain to construct environmentally regenerative, socially responsible systems. Learn more at https://greenblue.org/.

About How2Recycle

How2Recycle is the leading labeling program for packaging disposal instructions with the most recognizable on-pack label across the United States and Canada. Launched in 2012, How2Recycle started as a Sustainable Packaging Coalition working group aimed at providing consumers with clear, standard, and accessible on-pack disposal instructions. Today, with its more than 800 participating organizations, How2Recycle and its members are on a mission to make sure that consumers have the information they need to get waste into the right streams. Learn more at https://greenblue.org/projects/how2recycle/.

About The Recycling Partnership

The Recycling Partnership is a purpose-driven organization committed to building a better recycling system, one that delivers the economic and environmental benefits our communities and the hundreds of thousands of people who work throughout the recycling industry deserve. The Recycling Partnership’s team of experts, practitioners, and thought leaders with real-world experience works with its partners to create meaningful change across the recycling system and assist communities, companies, and policymakers in enacting such change. The Recycling Partnership uses its one-of-its kind National Recycling Database that reaches more than 9,000 U.S. recycling programs and develops practical and innovative resources to address critical gaps in the recycling system. Learn more at recyclingpartnership.org.

About Starbucks

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to responsibly souring and roasting high-quality Arabic coffee. Today, with a global footprint of more than 40,000 company-operated and licensed coffeehouse and a growing presence in consumer-packaged goods, we are the world’s premier purveyor of specialty coffee. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at about.starbucks.com or starbucks.com.

About WM

WM (WM.com) is North America's leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions. Previously known as Waste Management and based in Houston, Texas, WM is driven by commitments to put people first and achieve success with integrity. The company, through its subsidiaries, provides collection, recycling and disposal services to millions of residential, commercial, industrial, medical and municipal customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. With innovative infrastructure and capabilities in recycling, organics and renewable energy, WM provides environmental solutions to and collaborates with its customers in helping them pursue their sustainability goals. In North America, WM has the largest disposal network and collection fleet, is the largest recycler and is a leader in beneficial use of landfill gas, with a growing network of renewable natural gas plants and the most landfill gas-to-electricity plants, as well as the largest heavy-duty natural gas truck fleet in the industry. WM Healthcare Solutions provides collection and disposal services of regulated medical waste and secure information destruction services in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe. To learn more about WM and the company's sustainability progress and solutions, visit Sustainability.WM.com.