KLIX Eco Cup

Our KLIX Eco Cup represents a breakthrough innovation, a first in in-cup vending, due to its special formulation that includes a water-based dispersion coating that makes it recyclable into general paper waste. 

This solution will be a real improvement for our environment from an ecological standpoint, moving away from the Single Use Plastic options from both mineral and natural sources (e.g. bioplastic) that are populating the market and require specific recycling facilities.

Our KLIX Eco Cup is primarily made from paper from virgin wood fibre coated with a patented water-based dispersion barrier solution that is substituting the normal PE-lining that paper cups are generally made of that makes the standard paper cups unable to be recycled with normal paper waste.

The wood fibre used for the paper comes from PEFC™ certified sources, ensuring the cup is a fully sustainable and environmentally friendly solution.

Our KLIX Eco Cup is based on an innovative ISLA® paperboard solution, developed in Finland by our supplier Kotkamills, that substitutes the Polyethylene (PE) lined cup board that is commonly used for most of the paper cups available in the market. The water-based dispersion barrier is a mixture of natural and synthetic polymers, closely related to the binders used in typical pigment coated paper, which enables the cup to be recycled into the regular paper waste stream. 

The paper cups widely used in the market are disposable cups made of paper and often lined or coated with plastic (PE, polyethylene), or bioplastic in order to prevent liquid from leaking out or soaking through the paper. 

These other cups could be recycled by pulping in specialized mills or shredded and composted, but the fact that these require a specific collection and recycling stream reduces the number of existing facilities that accept them. Indeed, the plastic coating reduces their recyclability rate and increases the carbon footprint of the process

Our KLIX Eco Cup enables our customers to reduce over 2/3 (63%) of their carbon footprint, compared to the common paper cup (PE lined) which is likely to end up in landfill. 

Indeed, the KLIX Eco Cup is potentially recyclable into any paper waste stream, and its fibres can be recycled up to 7 times, generating a significant value also in its end-of-life phase.

Due to its design, the standard paper cup in market has a low chance of being recycled as it requires specialised facilities to process. The plastic coating inside the cup is extremely difficult to separate it from the paper cup itself. That means there are only a small number of recycling facilities in Europe that can recycle these cups due to the complexities of the process.