Closed Loop Partners in Partnership with McDonald's & Starbucks Issue the NextGen Cup Challenge

The Challenge is the first phase of a $10M+ multi-year, multi-industry global consortium that aims to advance the design, commercialization, and recovery of cup and food packaging alternatives.

NEW YORK -- Closed Loop Partners, in partnership with Founding Partners Starbucks and McDonald's are pleased to announce the official launch of the NextGen Cup Challenge!  The Challenge invites students, suppliers, entrepreneurs, designers and businesses to review the Challenge brief and begin crafting submissions.

Also read, Global Campaign Challenges Leading Coffee Chain to Create a 100% Recyclable Cup.

Top ideas will be eligible to receive a portion of $1 million in funding, along with the opportunity to advance to join a business accelerator program offering further assistance in scaling and commercializing solutions.

This Challenge is a part of NextGen Consortium, a global initiative convened by Closed Loop Partners' Center for the Circular Economy and founding members Starbucks and McDonald's. Other partners include The Coca-Cola Company and Yum! Brands as supporting partners, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as an advisory partner and OpenIDEO as the Consortium's open innovation partner.

Every day, millions of people across Canada and around the world enjoy a hot coffee on the go. In fact, each year, an estimated 250 billion fiber cups are distributed globally. Most of these paper cups are lined with plastic and in most recycling markets these materials aren't easily separated for recovery.

The Challenge is the first phase of a $10M+ multi-year, multi-industry global consortium that aims to advance the design, commercialization, and recovery of cup and food packaging alternatives. 

The Challenge Goals:

• The goal of the Challenge, which launches today, October 10, is to identify and commercialize existing and new cup solutions designed to be recoverable at their highest material value.
• As a Founding Partners, McDonald's and Starbucks have committed $10M to this multi-year consortium and are hoping scientists, students, entrepreneurs, or just everyday tinkerers and thinkers in Canada, and around the world, will share their ideas for creating a fully recyclable or compostable cup.
  

"We envision globally available to-go cups designed with their next life and use in mind," says Kate Daly, Executive Director of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners. "These cups would be made of ethically sourced and sustainable materials. After consumer use, the valuable cup materials would be given new life as other products or added to compost to become agricultural soil."

SOURCE Closed Loop Partners