Tully’s Coffee Corporation (Tully’s), a fully handcrafted coffee roaster, recently became the first major coffee retailer to adopt a fully renewable and compostable paper cup for its hot beverages. Tully’s has simultaneously established an in-store collection program to divert the used cups and other compostable food waste from local landfills to organic composting facilities. These materials will eventually be composted and “recycled” to enrich soil rather than lost to the landfill.

Tully’s program features the innovative ecotainer(TM) hot cup from International Paper. Unlike conventional paper hot cups that are lined with a petrochemical plastic to prevent leaking, the ecotainer(TM) hot cup is lined with a bio-plastic made from a renewable resource - corn. This coating material requires less energy to manufacture and is greenhouse gas neutral. In addition, the cup is the only commercially available 100 percent compostable hot cup certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI).

To further the effectiveness of the initiative, Tully’s has also partnered with local compost and recycling organizations to establish the first waste management program of its kind. It is estimated that as a result, more than 70 percent of food and packaging waste from Tully’s retail stores will now be diverted from local landfills. Cedar Grove Organics will collect and compost Washington Tully’s new green cup at local facilities in Everett and Maple Valley.

For more information, visit tullys.com