More than 60% of households can now recycle plastic beverage cups in the U.S.

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. With 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.

Recycling polypropylene in curbside bins 

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 percent 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 percent 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."

Household waste represents a large gap in the value chain 

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.

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 percent 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.

"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."