How is a cardboard cup made?

It was in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century that a Boston lawyer came to the idea of ​​developing a refrigerated water distributor with disposable cups. Indeed, the fact that germs are propagated by people sharing cups with drinking water fountains concerned him. His company, the Dixie Cup, is therefore starting to market a series of disposable cardboard cups. There Marketing of cardboard cups So start from there. But before marketing them, there are of course manufacturing steps, on which we will now look.

We will first see that there are several types of paper used as part of the manufacture of cups, we will then look at the manufacturing steps, then we will finally talk about the different types of possible recyclages depending on the materials that make up the goblet.

The types of paper used in the context of manufacturing

When making the Cardboard cup, it is possible to use different types of paper. The various certificates that the papers have then influence the cost, the environmental impact and potentially working conditions. We find 3 kinds of paper:

• Normal paper 

In order to make paper, it is first essential to call on wood, which is a renewable resource. The trees are therefore slaughtered, to then be transformed into paper. Wood can come from forests located in Europe and South America, and can respect FSC standards, without the forest being necessarily certified. 

 

• FSC certified paper

An FSC certified product means that all actors participating in the manufacturer's (from producer to the distributor) are themselves FSC certified. In order to obtain this certification, the company must comply with 10 principles established by the FSC organization. Within these principles, we can in particular find the obligation to replant the slaughtered trees. There are 3 different certification programs, labeled on products for sale: 

• FSC 100 %: This certification means that the wood used for the manufacture of paper comes from 100 % certified forests FSC

• FSC recycled: this means that the whole wood or paper used for the manufacture of the cup comes from reused materials

• Mixed FSC: This certification means that certified products are made from a mixture of recycled materials, materials from FSC certified forests or controlled wood.

• FSI paper

Paper products made from this certification are only made from recycled materials and paper. Companies manufacturing this kind of paper work with paper waste suppliers located in the Philippines. 

Manufacturing steps

Once the production of paper is completed, this same paper is transported in factories for the manufacture of cups. Cardboard cups are produced in different stages. 

At first, and according to the demand of companies, the goblets are printed before switching to the stages of cutting and folding. It is indeed impossible to print on cups already folded. There are several printing methods such as offset printing, buffer, flexographic impression and digital printing.

Secondly, the paper is cut by a machine in order to respond precisely to the requested measures.

Thirdly, the paper passes into a machine that folds it in the shape of a cup. The top of the cup is also folded so that the cup is more resistant and pleasant when you drink.

In a last time, the bottom of the cup is reinforced so that the liquid cannot cross the wall.

The recycling

We are going to talk about how we recycle, after use, the different kinds of cups here.

• Plastic cups

These plastic -free cardboard cups are only made from paper materials. After use, these cups are completely recyclable. The recovery of the virgin wood fiber from this cup makes it possible to produce products again from paper, such as newspapers or the paper bags used by traders. In order to be able to bring your cardboard cup into a recycling process and thus reduce its carbon impact by half, it must be thrown into a paper trash can, and then be collected and sent to specialized paper factories. 

Note that if the cardboard cups without plastic are not thrown and recycled, they can also degrade in the wild (more or less quickly depending on the temperature).

• Cardboard cups and plain

These cups have a thin layer of plastic produced from plants (PLA). PLA plastic cannot be broken down into nature, it is therefore only degradable in factories provided for this purpose. Plastic is however broken down under certain conditions: for example, plastic must first be moistened for 90 days before being broken down. Because there are currently few factories practicing this type of recycling, it is therefore advisable to throw these goblets like normal cups, so that they are burned and transformed into biomass.

• Cardboard cups with Peak Film

The presence of a thin layer of plastic (which guarantees the waterproofing of the cup), does not constitute an obstacle to recycling if the cups are well sorted and well emptied. Once the sorting center receives the cups, the cardboard and the plastic are separated and the cups are then immersed in large water tanks. Next comes the suspension, where the plastic fraction is disintegrated and eliminates by slit. The goblets are then immersed in a pulp which transforms them into a dough, and the stages of purification, dissemination and cycloning follow. When the dough is clean and homogeneous, it is spread out, pressed to make a leaf, and then dried. A mother coil is then made, and once it is finished, the dough can return to the factory to make other cups.

 

In conclusion of all this, each manufacturer can decide the paper it wishes to use (normal, FSC or FSI), but the manufacturing steps remain the same for each manufacturer. Using materials good for the environment is a good thing, but if you want to become or continue to be an eco-responsible consumer, it is important to adopt the right sorting gestures so that your cardboard cups can be recycled in adequate places.