UK Retailer M&S Rolls Introduces Plastics-Free To-Go Cups and Lids

M&S St Helens Store 6. Press photo.

UK-based retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) is introducing plastic-free and recyclable to-go coffee cups and lids for hot drinks, a first for a major coffee chain.

The company is introducing its 100% paper fiber cups and lids to 20 retail locations throughout the UK, with plans to roll out the packaging to all of its more than 300 cafe locations in the coming months.

“With one in every two of us visiting a coffee shop several times a week the long-lasting damage coffee cups can have on the planet without being properly recycled is huge,” Alex Freudmann, managing director at M&S Food, said in an announcement of the cup launch today. “That’s why we were determined to bring a sustainable alternative to what’s out there today, and we’re proud to offer customers the first fully recyclable coffee cup on the high street.”

M&S’s new plastic-free cups. The lids have not yet been publicly shown. Courtesy photo.

The company is pitching the lid-and-cup combo as alternative to traditional hot drink cups, which typically have a thin plastic lining to protect hot liquids from leaching into paper and causing spills. Lids throughout the coffee industry are also predominantly composed of non-biodegradable plastics.

M&S said the new cups and lids are designed to be recyclable through home and common municipal channels — like public recycling bins — although it should be noted that packaging that has come into contact with food or beverages may not be recyclable, depending on the jurisdiction.

The company, which already offers a 50p (approximately 60 cents) discount for users who bring their own reusable vessels for to-go drinks, said the change in packaging will result in the removal of approximately 20 million units of plastic from its food business.

An M&S Food location in Derby. Press photo.

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