Paper cups made with EarthCoating® may be easily pulped into recycled paper using conventional paper recycling equipment

How :

Bales of used paper cups are put into a "pulper" which is filled with hot liquids and uses high-speed blades to churn the materials into paper pulp. The goal of the pulper is to separate fibers from any other materials, so that the fibers can be used to make recycled paper. In the pulping process, the fibers separate from any other materials, including clay plastic coating along with any food and dirt particles. The fibers float to the top of the pulper, leaving the food and dirt particles to sink to the bottom where they are captured as waste.  

Unfortunately, conventional plastic-coated paper cups are made with a 100% plastic coating that floats to the top of the pulper along with the fibers, clogging the screening processs which can cause cycle shutdowns, and potentially damaging equipment. As a result, conventional paper cups are typically not accepted by recyclers and over 50 billion of them get sent to U.S. landfills each year. 

However, because EarthCoating® is a mineralized resin, it fractures into small, dense particles which sink in the pulper, leaving the fibers to easily move forward in the process.  Any residual EarthCoating® particles that may get trapped within the fibers are small enough to pass through the recycling screens without any problems. Any residual particles of EarthCoating are removed by centrifugal cleaners, where gravity provides the separation of fibers from any remaining contaminants, with only fiber moving forward into the paper making phase of the process.

For more detailed information on this process, download our Repulping Report.

EarthCoating® uses 40-51% less plastic than conventional 100% plastic coatings

In addition to making paper cups valuable to collect and easy to process into recycled paper, EarthCoating® offers an immediate 40-51% plastic reduction compared to conventional plastic coatings.

We're also currently working with strategic manufacturers, distributors, recyclers and general partners throughout the globe to have reCUPs become widely available and accepted as recyclable. To start, we encourage you to order reCUPs today and work with us to get your local recycler to accept reCUPs as part of their paper recycling program. 

CONVENTIONAL paper cups go to landfills

Conventional paper cups are made with a 100% plastic coating of Polyethylene, that breaks into large, sturdy flakes during the paper repulping process. The resulting mix of paper and plastic clogs recycling machines and therefore paper cups are typically sorted to be placed in landfills.

an innovative solution is available

Instead of 100% plastic, reCUPs are made using EarthCoating® technology, an award-winning mineral-based coating alternative that's engineered to make paper cups that are fully compatible with conventional paper recycling systems, thereby making the cups worth collecting and profitable to recycle.

everything ELSE stays the same

reCUPs look, feel and function exactly like conventional paper cups, and the manufacturing process is the same too. The only difference is that reCUPs are are made with EarthCoating and are easy for recyclers to process.