Sustainability takes center stage in storytime with a new children’s book created from recycled coffee cups

UK – The opening title “Little Coffee Cup and the Big Surprise” from author and sustainability advocate Hayley Slack, is the world’s first published children’s book to be printed on paper made from recycled coffee cups.

Combining creativity with innovation, this charming story follows Little Coffee Cup, an adventurous character who ventures beyond the café to explore the world beyond.

Beyond the playful storyline, the author aims to raise discussions on waste, reuse and the circular economy, one cup at a time.

“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,” says Slack, who works at Biffa and has long championed sustainable practices.

“Books have the power to shape how children see the world, so why not use them to also show how the world can be?”

Of the recycled coffee cups collected from across the UK, 13 of them are used to make a physical book.

At James Cropper’s Burneside Mill in the Lake District, those cups are given a second life by being transformed into beautiful, high-quality paper Through CupCycling.

Poetically, the story ends at the very mill where the real cups find new life to pages.

“I wanted to show that we can create children’s books using UK waste, supporting both the environment and local industry,” Hayley explains.

“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?”

Following the UK government’s recent decision to scrap a proposed mandatory return program for disposable cups, citing limited environmental benefits and high implementation costs, the release of the book is a timely opportunity.

Environmental NGO WRAP estimates that the UK uses around 3.2 billion single-use cups each year, highlighting the severity of the environmental challenge.

On the contrary, the recycling capacity needed for this number of cups is already in place, highlighting that the main challenge is in collection and participation.

In this regard, Programs like CupCycling are essential in transforming waste into opportunity by effectively collecting and recycling used cups into useful paper products.

In response to growing concerns around sustainability in publishing, such as global printing and material-heavy processes, Little Coffee Cup and the Big Surprise sets a new standard for sustainable narratives.

Despite its small size, the book conveys the idea that waste has the potential to be reinvented.

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

Little Coffee Cup and the Big Surprise are set to come out soon.

Subscribe to our email newsletters that provide busy executives like you with the latest news insights and trends from Africa and the World. SUBSCRIBE HERE