Children may be known for their ability to get their own way but it’s hoped a new book could help harness so-called ‘pester power’ to benefit the environment.
The children’s book Little Coffee Cup and the Big Surprise is the debut story from Cumbrian author and sustainability advocate, Hayley Slack and follows the tale of Little Coffee Cup who leaves the comfort of a café to discover the wide world.
Not only is the book written to spark conversations about waste and reuse but it’s made from recycled coffee cups by Burneside-based paper and packaging manufacturer, James Cropper.
Each physical book is made from 13 recycled coffee cups, collected from across the UK and beyond.
“Since January we’ve received 757 tonnes – that’s around 64 million coffee cups – which have been diverted from landfill,” Rob Tilsley Croppers’ fibre specialist told Business Crack as he showed me around the Burneside factory.
The process is known as CupCycling; major coffee and fast food chains are paid to send their used cups to Cumbria where they are processed to remove the plastic some contain. This is also recycled and used for a variety of functions including furniture manufacturing.
Interest in the process is growing as is demand to use the paper that results.
“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,” author Hayley Slack said.
“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.”
Although Croppers has been involved in recycling for 13 years, extracting the fibre from cups to be reused is exciting.
The ‘feel’ of the book is attractive. – the paper feels expensive yet the process means the cost is kept to a minimum. That’s why other customers, including high end retailers Burberry are keen to use paper created from the process.
Speaking about the potential impact of the campaign Hayley says she hopes the book will encourage more organisations to consider using the upcycled paper as well as follow future stories of The Little Coffee Cup.
“Children love the story they love seeing the journey,” Hayley said. “It’s not just a story it’s a journey they can relate to and the feedback has been brilliant. My next focus is to increase the points for coffee cup recycling and work with a partner to have more recycling points.”
According to environmental group WRAP, an estimated 3.2 billion single-use cups are used annually in the UK. James Cropper has capacity to recycle more coffee cups and through the CupCycling initiative hopes to encourage the wider industry change.
“This pioneering project showcases the power of innovation in turning everyday waste into something truly meaningful,” WRAP’S senior specialist Adam Herriott said.
“By transforming recycled coffee cups into a children’s book, it not only supports UK-based manufacturing and sustainable paper production, but also inspires young people to think differently about waste and reuse.
“Initiatives like this help build a circular economy, reduce reliance on virgin materials, and demonstrate how local resources can be repurposed to create high-value products. We hope to see more creative collaborations like this across the UK, helping to drive environmental change and support local industry.”
Hayley added: “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 now available from retailers including Waterstones.
