Memphis Introduces Curbside Paper Cup Recycling

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Curbside recycling carts across the city of Memphis will welcome even more recyclables beginning Thursday, June 1. Thanks to a partnership with the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI), over 182,000 households will be able to recycle clean and empty paper cups. With this move, Memphis joins a growing trend of communities adding paper cups to their residential recycling programs.

“It’s exciting to be a part of this incredible initiative aimed at expanding recycling programs and include paper cups in our list of acceptable materials. Through this partnership, we are now able to offer our community a valuable opportunity to conserve resources and reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfills,” said Philip Davis, Solid Waste Director for the City of Memphis.

Memphis will launch an outreach campaign to inform residents of what is recyclable through the expanded program and remind them that all recyclables should be clean and empty when placed in their recycling carts. With support from a communications grant from FPI, the campaign will feature social media posts, print and digital advertisements, and an updated recycling flyer. Residents will learn about the wide range of take-out packaging they can place in their recycling carts including clean and empty pizza boxes, paper bags, plastic cups and containers, aluminum foil and cans, molded fiber containers and paper cups. To prepare products for recycling, residents are asked to empty any remaining liquid, toss the lid in the trash, and place their cups loose in recycling carts or drop-off bins.

The city will kick off the campaign on June 1 with a press conference at the Mud Island Recycling Drop-off Center at noon. Attendees will be treated to free coffee from Crazy Gander Coffee, served in paper cups that can be recycled. The first 35 attendees will also receive a gift card for Crazy Gander Coffee. The event will be a great opportunity to learn about sustainable practices and residents are encouraged to attend.

“We’re delighted to team up with the city of Memphis to ramp up its recycling efforts. By accepting paper cups into the residential recycling program and doing outreach to the community, we hope to communicate the importance of recycling foodservice packaging items,” said Natha Dempsey, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute. “We actually started our very first community partnership in Tennessee back in 2017, so returning to the state to expand our efforts is especially meaningful to us.”

The city sends its collected recyclables to Republic’s materials recovery facility in Memphis, where the cups are recovered and baled with other paper to be converted into new products, diverting waste from landfills and advancing the circular economy.

To learn more about Memphis’ recycling initiative and see a list of all acceptable curbside recyclables, visit https://recycle.memphistn.gov/.

New Technology Enables Paper Cup Recycling and Improves Food and Beverage Carton Recycling in Dallas

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FCC Environmental Services, a leading waste management provider in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, has installed new robotic sorting technology at its materials recovery facility (MRF). This cutting-edge technology will enable the MRF to start accepting and sorting paper cups, and more efficiently capture food and beverage cartons from residents throughout the greater Dallas area. This will ensure the valuable fiber found in both types of containers can go on to make new paper-based products.

FCC joins a growing trend of MRFs and communities that are including paper cups and food and beverage cartons as part of their residential recycling programs. This initiative was made possible by a collaborative equipment grant from the Carton Council of North America (CCNA), the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI), and the NextGen Consortium.

“With the installation of this new robotic sorting technology, we are proud to expand and improve our recycling capabilities and offer our customers in the Dallas metropolitan area the opportunity to recycle paper cups and cartons,” said Bruce Magnuson, FCC’s senior general manager.

“This robotic sorting and AI is a great example of how technology can help improve recycling and ultimately contribute to our circular economy by capturing more recyclable materials,” said Larine Urbina, vice president of communications for the Carton Council. “We are proud to work with FCC to embrace innovation to expand recycling. Collaboration with others throughout the recycling value chain is a cornerstone of the Carton Council’s strategy.”

MRFs have multiple options for managing paper cups and cartons. While many MRFs include cups and cartons in mixed paper bales, FCC has opted to sort this material to a higher-value poly-grade bale. The new AMP robot plays a crucial role in the mechanical recovery and makes the sorting of these materials for the higher-value market possible.

“Strengthening recycling infrastructure is vital to creating a more circular future for packaging. The NextGen Consortium is thrilled to partner with FCC and other industry leaders to provide grant funding for new recycling technology that can help keep more valuable packaging, like cups and cartons, in circulation and reduce waste,” said Kate Daly, Head of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners––the managing partner of the NextGen Consortium.

“Our equipment grant program is designed to help organizations invest in new recycling infrastructure and drive innovation in waste management. We are excited to see the impact it is having in the Dallas metro area expanding recycling to nearly half a million households,” said Natha Dempsey, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute.

Once paper cups and cartons enter the recycling system, they can be used by mills to make new paper products that consumers use every day, like paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, and even new cups. Follow FCC’s progress and other recycling efforts at https://fccenvironmental.com.

All Signs Point to… Uncertainty

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If you’ve been around for a while, you’ll know that each year we publish our State of the Industry Report. This year was no different. After 24 years of producing this report, we tend to have a good sense of what the results will show. But, with continued fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and increased economic uncertainty, the industry is left without a clear grasp of what will happen in 2023. The 24th State of the Industry Report doesn’t reflect a unified outlook, but it does provide valuable insight of the current foodservice packaging industry.

We get this snapshot every year during the first quarter by sending out the State of the Industry survey to FPI members as well as non-members within the industry. This gives us the viewpoint of folks we don’t always hear from, and it provides non-member participants a chance to view the report. Most importantly, it tells us what the industry thinks when looking back at 2022 and ahead to 2023.

Only 60% of foodservice packaging manufacturers and suppliers experienced growth in volume, compared to 80% in the previous survey. In a large jump from 2021, 70% reported profit growth in 2022. But, in a show of continued uncertainty, only 50% of the industry expect volume expansion and 39% expect profit growth this year. Foodservice operators who responded saw increased sales, and were overwhelmingly optimistic that this trend would continue in 2023.

Sending another signal that the outlook for 2023 is uncertain, 37% of the North American manufacturers reported another year of planned corporate expansion primarily through expansion of current facilities, compared with 50% in 2022. In a continued decline from previous years, 60% of North American converter respondents plan to purchase machinery in 2023.

One thing that is certain is respondents’ view on the fast casual segment and grocery stores — they’re seen as the greatest areas for market expansion. This is due in part to continued use of take-out post-pandemic, along with inflation. Convenience stores and chain quick-service restaurants are also noted as opportunities for market expansion because of increased foodservice solutions and the ability to eat foods on-the-go.

Despite the uncertainty, there is room for optimism. People are going to continue to want their food on-the-go and our industry will continue to provide ways that make it easiest for that to happen.

We’d like to thank the organizations that participated in this year’s survey. If you haven’t participated before, but are eligible (raw material or machinery supplier, converter, foodservice operator or foodservice distributor), please think about participating next year. We realize it’s a time commitment on your end, but the survey is meaningful because of your responses. If you’d like more information or would like to be on our list for next year, let us know.

New Program Increases Tulsa Residents’ Ability to Recycle Paper Cups at Home

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More than 252,000 households in the Tulsa metropolitan area can now place clean and empty paper cups in recycling carts and drop-off bins for curbside collection. The region’s primary materials recovery facility, Mr. Murph 2.0, partnered with the Foodservice Packaging Institute on a communications grant to educate residents on the wide range of take-out packaging that can be placed in curbside recycling bins and drop-off recycling bins instead of trash cans.

“Amidst our continued acceptance of numerous take-out containers, we are excited to announce our efforts in educating residents about our recycling process and the best practices that support it. By doing so, we aim to tackle the issue of contamination and avoid sending valuable materials for incineration or disposal at landfills,” said Robert Pickens, Vice President of American Waste Control, Inc.

The Tulsa metropolitan area can recycle food packaging containers, including clean paper and plastic cups and containers, pizza and sandwich boxes, and paper bags, through community curbside and drop-off recycling program. To best prepare the items for processing, residents are asked to empty the recyclables of any liquid or food residue before placing them in their recycling cart or recycling drop-off bin.

“We are proud to partner with American Waste Control in their efforts to raise awareness and educate Tulsa residents on acceptable take-out containers that can be placed in recycling cart and bins. By empowering residents with knowledge and skills, we can divert valuable materials from being disposed as waste and advance Tulsa’s circular economy,” said Natha Dempsey, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute.

The recycling program strengthens Oklahoma’s economy and generates employment opportunities within the state. Nearly 95% of recyclables delivered to Mr. Murph stay in the state. Mr. Murph will lead the charge to help encourage Tulsa area residents to recycle, by communicating messaging around recycling clean and empty take-out containers. American Waste Control’s outreach campaign kicks off on May 3rd and features an educational recycling video, social media, digital ads, an infographic on recycling take-out containers, and updates to their popular “Feed Mr. Murph” recycle right education game.

To learn more and see a list of all acceptable curbside recyclables, visit feedmrmurph.com.