An innovative new lottery has been launched which encourages consumers to recycle used paper cups throughout the UK. In return for binning their cup at participating outlets, users can enter the free CupLotto® prize draw to win regular spot prizes and a weekly jackpot of £1,000.
CupLotto® is the brain-child of circular economy experts, co-cre8 and technology pioneers, Peasy. co-cre8 already has deep experience in creating and managing programs to collect and recycle post-consumer materials, whilst Peasy uses innovative technology to boost consumer uptake and is the creator of LitterLotto1.
CupLotto® can be played at any participating cup collection unit and is exclusive to members of co-cre8’s paper cup recycling scheme. However, recognising that CupLotto® also presents a unique opportunity to increase overall engagement in collecting cups segregated, CupLotto® will also be available for businesses implementing reusable cup initiatives with supporting co-cre8 cup collection units.
“Paper cup recycling initiatives have been around for more than a decade yet the vast majority of consumers still don’t know whether used paper cups can be recycled or have sufficient access to simple and easy to use cup collection units to recycle them”, says Peter Goodwin, Managing Director and Co-founder of co-cre8.
“CupLotto® will build on the success of our existing, proven collection system by being the first cup recycling campaign that financially incentivises consumers to put their used cup in the right bin. We are continually innovating in this space and not only see that intuitive collection systems, simple to follow processes and data harvesting are paramount, but also how all this dovetails with evolving consumer behaviour to boost capture rates and ultimately recycle more”, added Peter.
Entering CupLotto® is quick and easy. Users simply scan the QR code on the participating bin panel, take a photo of their used paper cup and then deposit it in the collection bin. Although users can enter multiple times, the technology ensures that one deposited cup only counts as one entry.
co-cre8 are already busy signing up a raft of participating brands who see CupLotto® as a way of both building customer loyalty and making the cup collection process as cost-effective as possible (by collecting cups stacked and free from contamination). This is of particular importance given the pending introduction of UK Mandatory Cup Take Back legislation in 2025.
Although originally intended to promote recycling schemes, CupLotto® is also proving to be of equal interest to reuse schemes as a way of maximising return rates in closed loop environments. co-cre8 is already in discussion with a number of leading destinations who are looking to increase the efficiency of their reuse systems.
David Landsberg, Founder and CEO of Peasy says, “After our successful rollout of LitterLottoâ we wanted to proactively incentivise the recycling of problematic waste streams, the most abundant of which are used coffee cups. co-cre8, with their vast experience in post-consumer materials, were the perfect fit to take exclusive rights of CupLotto® through its existing Paper Cup Recycling service and it’s established links with the coffee cup supply chain in both the UK & Europe”.
The CupLotto® activation panel can be applied to both new and existing co-cre8 cup collection stations, and is subject to a monthly charge that contributes both to the prize fund, as well as a new Paper Cup Recycling Fund which will be used to support further paper cup collection initiatives in the UK.
Retailers and brands also have the opportunity to upgrade the service to offer their own spot prizes, such as food and beverage prizes for those consumers playing CupLotto® at their own sites.
