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James Cropper and Biffa have joined forces to release a children’s book encouraging proper recycling habits, which is itself made from recycled materials
British papermaker, James Cropper Paper & Packaging, has partnered with sustainable waste management company, Biffa, to produce ‘Whitney the Wasteater and the Wrong Bite’, a new children’s storybook designed to encourage proper recycling habits and community engagement.
Launched to coincide with World Book Day and aimed at children aged 2 to 7, the story follows Whitney, a ‘picky’ Wasteater who thrives on clean, dry recyclables but falls ill after taking a wrong bite from mixed or contaminated bins.
The tale aims to blend imaginative storytelling with practical lessons on sorting materials correctly, making recycling both fun and educational for children and families alike.
The release follows a similar book launch last June by James Cropper, when they created the first published children's book printed on paper made from recycled coffee cups.
The book, titled ‘Little Coffee Cup and the Big Surprise’, was the debut title from author and sustainability advocate, Hayley Slack.
As with the previous release, James Cropper has supplied the storybook’s paper through its CupCycling process, which upcycles used PE-lined coffee cups into premium paper at James Cropper's Burneside Mill in the Lake District.
Each copy of ‘Whitney the Wasteater and the Wrong Bite’ is made from approximately 15 recycled coffee cups.
The storybook will be incorporated into around 1,000 school visits per year and community engagement activities, with 100% of proceeds donated to WasteAid, supporting global initiatives that help communities manage and repurpose waste safely and sustainably.
The CupCycling system has the capacity to upcycle up to 700 million used coffee cups per year, but in reality only around 58 million are recycled annually, depending on whether people buy, use, and return the correct type of cup.
While an estimated 3.2 billion disposable cups used in the UK each year, only 2.8% are currently recycled according to Biffa.
Companies involved in CupCycling include high-street brands such as Costa Coffee and Greggs, with customers able to return PE-lined cups to Costa stores to ensure they are collected and brought back into the CupCycling process.
Jordan Scott, head of marketing at James Cropper, says: "We’re proud to support Biffa on this project by supplying CupCycling paper.
"Whitney the Wasteater and the Wrong Bite brings recycling to life in a playful, tangible way. Children can see, touch, and hold proof that everyday materials like a simple coffee cup can become something beautiful when we sort and recycle correctly. It’s a story that connects imagination with real-world sustainability."
The Wasteaters programme, created by Biffa in 2016 and relaunched last summer, uses colourful monster characters to make recycling fun and visible.
Georgia Gibson, social value manager at Biffa Manchester says: “Breathing life into one of our Wasteater characters in a children’s book is a wonderful way to spark curiosity about recycling from an early age.
“By using rhyme and imagination, we’re helping youngsters see how their choices matter and how small everyday actions can make a big difference to the environment.”
