World’s first children’s book made from recycled cups released

Paper and packaging manufacturer, James Cropper, has helped to release the first published children's book printed on paper made from recycled coffee cups.

The book, titled ‘Little Coffee Cup and the Big Surprise’, is the debut title from author and sustainability advocate, Hayley Slack.

It follows tale of Little Coffee Cup, who leaves the comfort of a café to discover the wide world. The work was created to spark conversations about waste, reuse, and the circular economy.

Each book is made from materials using James Cropper's CupCycling process, which upcycles used coffee cups into premium paper at James Cropper's Burneside Mill in the Lake District. In a poetic twist, the story of the book ends at the very same mill.

Each physical book is made from 13 recycled coffee cups, collected from across the UK. According to James Cropper, 58 million coffee cups have been diverted from landfill through CupCycling in just the past year.

Author Hayley Slack, who also works for waste management company, Biffa, says: "As a mum of two and someone who works in the waste industry, I wanted to create something meaningful that would make kids and parents think differently about what we throw away.

"Books have the power to shape how children see the world, so why not use them to also show how the world can be? I wanted to show that we can create children's books using UK waste, supporting both the environment and local industry."

Speaking about the potential impact of the campaign, Slack continues: "If we can demonstrate how recycled coffee cup waste can become new books, we can promote greater rates of recycling, less imports, and reduce the number of trees being used solely for new books. Why can't we give our billions of used coffee cups in the UK the chance to be turned into children's books?"

The book's release follows the UK government's decision to reverse a proposed mandatory takeback scheme for disposable cups last year, citing limited environmental benefit and high cost to industry.

According to environmental organisation, WRAP, an estimated 3.2 billion single-use cups are used annually in the UK. James Cropper asserts that sufficient processing capacity already exists to recycle this volume of cups, but that the key barrier lies in collection and participation.

By launching CupCycling, the materials manufacturer hopes not only to upcycle cups into premium products, but also to encourage wider industry change.

Slack adds: "Every child reading this story is literally holding a piece of that journey in their hands. That’s how we make sustainability feel real.”

‘Little Coffee Cup and the Big Surprise’ is due to be publicly released soon. Those interested in purchasing the book have been encouraged register their interest now, with pre-orders available from retailers including Waterstones.