Tully’s Coffee switches to corn lining for its paper cups

Tully's Coffee Corp. said it has adopted a fully renewable and compostable paper cup that has a corn-based lining for its hot beverages.

The bio-plastic coating material requires less energy to manufacture and is greenhouse gas neutral, Tully’s said in a statement. The coffee retailer also said the cup, made by International Paper, is the only commercially available 100 percent compostable hot cup certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI).

Tully's also announced an in-store collection program to divert the used cups and other compostable food waste from local landfills to organic composting facilities. These materials will eventually be composted and "recycled" to enrich soil rather than lost to the landfill.

“With American consumers using more than 16 billion paper hot cups every year, leaders in the specialty coffee retail industry need to take action," said Rob Martin, vice president of Merchandising and Production for Tully's Coffee.