From Parties to Playgrounds

That red cup from Friday night is going from the beer pong table to the playground as a result of a new initiative from Solo Cup Company.

Solo Cup has joined forces with TerraCycle, Inc., an international upcycling company that takes difficult-to-recycle items and turns them into affordable, eco-friendly products.

The "Solo Cup Brigade" is an initiative that takes the iconic red party cups and upcycles them into playground materials, park benches, and other outdoor furniture by converting the waste into new products of higher environmental value.

"The partnership started with TerraCycle to create a recycling program for our square cups," said Kim Frankovich, vice president for sustainability for Solo Cup. "We wanted to find an avenue to actually get our cups recycled as well as create an incentive for those to do so."

The idea for this project emerged when consumers asked Solo how they can go about recycling a product that most community curbside recycling programs do not accept, according to Frankovich.

The city of Buffalo, for example, does not accept plastic three items, which are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), as these items are toxic, unsafe to break down in recycling plants, and are not biodegradable.

"Unless there is a recycling system in place for the number three plastic, the cups are thrown away after parties and events," said Lauren Taylor, director of U.S. public relations for TerraCycle. "That means they are most likely taken to a local landfill where they will stay forever, which is a waste of resources because TerraCycle can recycle the cups into other items."

Solo Cup and TerraCycle are asking community groups and individuals to sign up to be a part of the brigade and host their own events to collect the red and other polystyrene cups to be recycled.

Community groups can use these events as fundraisers. TerraCycle and Solo Cup will return 2 cents to the group or to the charity of its choice for every cup collected and recycled. Keep America Beautiful, a national non-profit organization that is dedicated to litter prevention and waste reduction, will receive funds that have not been donated to a specific charity.

"In the likely case that [the cups] can't be recycled through your local options, you can mail them in with postage paid and no charge," said Rob Wallace, vice president of communications for Keep America Beautiful. "You can know that they are being put to better use and not just being put in a landfill. Whether it's a red cup, or a beverage bottle or can, recycling is probably the easiest thing anyone can do to reduce their carbon footprint and conserve natural resources and energy."

Solo Cup strives to increase community awareness and involvement through this initiative, especially on college campuses where students may use red cups frequently at parties and other events. Students should be aware of the options available for recycling and know what happens if they do not take the steps to dispose of waste properly, according to Frankovich.

"Most [cups] will get thrown out because most people don't know that they're recyclable. After they're thrown out, they're just going to sit in a landfill," said Mike Alcazaren, a senior aerospace and mechanical engineering major and director of the SA Environmental Department. "If it's a certain plant that uses an incinerator, then it could be turned into power, but it's really highly polluted because when you break down plastic you release a lot of toxins into the air because it's not supposed to be burned like that."

Alcazaren also stressed that information about this and similar programs should reach UB's campus and college campuses throughout the nation. He added that Solo cups are durable and can survive more than one use; students could rinse and reuse the cups after partying each weekend.

Solo and TerraCycle hopes that this project is just the first step in raising awareness and promoting environmentally friendly recycling programs. In addition to the Solo Cup Brigade, the company is working on making their line of items biodegradable and environmentally friendly by June.

Email: news@ubspectrum.com