Waste group Shredall to scale up cup recycling ahead of Bellshill depot launch

Waste and recycling company Shredall SDS Group is looking to grow its paper cup recycling service in line with the Scottish Government’s pledge to build Scotland’s circular economy.

From left: Nik Williams with Shredall Scotland manager Brian McCulloch, operations supervisor Ryan McCulloch and Roseanna Cunningham. Picture: Contributed

The business, which provides a collection and recycling service for Scottish businesses using recyclable coffee cups, aims to reuse some of the more than 2.5 billion coffee cups sent to landfill in the UK each year.

Roseanna Cunningham, Scotland’s cabinet secretary for environment, climate change and land reform, visited the firm to explore the potential of its cup recycling service.

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on waste reduction proposals including introducing mandatory public reporting of waste, strengthening household recycling and enhancing environmental charging on single-use items proven to be harmful to the environment.

Shredall is due to launch a 17,000-square-foot depot in Bellshill next month, in addition to its Larkhall site, as the business seeks to double annual revenues at its Scottish operations.

MD Nik Williams said: “Our investment in new machinery reflects our commitment to helping businesses transition to a circular economy, and it was good to see the cabinet secretary take an interest in a business like ours.”

Cunningham added: “A thriving circular economy presents enormous economic and industrial opportunities for Scotland, as well as significant environmental benefits.

“Whether it is making the decision to switch from disposable to reusable cups or making sure cups are dealt with more effectively at the end of their life, we all need to do more to support a more circular economy and reduce our environmental impact.”