Every morning, millions of cups leave café counters across Ireland. Most of them finished before the first meeting, the first commute, the first proper breath of the day to then they disappear into a bin.
Because for a long time, that was the only option. But in Dublin, that story is changing. And it’s exactly what The Cup Collective, with ourselves at Panda, are working to rewrite, one cup at a time.
A Scheme Built Around the City
Supported by Dublin City Council and designed and manufactured by infrastructure partner Co-Cre8, The Cup Collective places speciality collection bins directly in participating cafés and retailers at the exact moment a customer finishes their drink and looks for where to place it next.
What’s more, it does not matter where the cup came from. Customers can even drop off cups from other coffee shops. The only thing that matters is that it ends up in the right place.
As Co-Cre8 founder Peter Goodwin put it simply:
“Installing these recycling stations with a focus on units designed for paper cup collection in participating cafés and retailers makes it simple and convenient for customers to recycle their takeaway cups.”
Simple and convenient. Two words that, in recycling, make all the difference.
Phase 1: Over 300,000 cups collected
Before Ranelagh, there was Dublin city. Phase 1 of The Cup Collective saw speciality bins deployed across our very own capital, and the response spoke for itself. Over 300,000 cups were collected, segregated, and properly recycled.
Michelle McBride, Retail Director at Butlers Chocolate Café, one of the scheme’s earliest participants, described what she saw on the ground:
“This initiative shows that with the right infrastructure in place, people are more than willing to recycle. It’s a positive step for the community, for local businesses and for the environment.”
Phase 2: Ranelagh’s Expansion
Now the scheme has expanded into Ranelagh, where local businesses, including Butlers Chocolate Café, SuperValu, SPAR, and Urban Health have signed up to host collection points. What started as a city-wide pilot is becoming something embedded in the daily rhythms of the neighbourhood.
Phase 2 doesn’t just expand the geography. It deepens the proof of concept: that recycling works best when it’s woven into the community.
Dublin City Council’s Senior Executive Officer for Waste Management, Barry Woods, pointed to an impact that goes beyond the environmental:
“A welcome benefit of this initiative is that the levels of waste being left in public bins should be reduced, thereby increasing capacity and reducing the frequency of servicing of public bins in this area.”
In other words, recycling infrastructure doesn’t just help the planet. It helps the city function better for everyone in it.
Where Panda Plays the Part
Once cups are deposited in collection bins across Ranelagh and Dublin, it’s our turn to step in to collect them. From there, they’re prepared for shipment to the James Cropper recycling facility in the UK, where the material is recovered and put back into productive use.
Our Head of Commercial Operations, Chris Noonan, explains why this matters beyond the numbers:
“Something as simple as dedicated cup collection bins is making a genuine difference — it takes away the guesswork around ‘which bin’ and gives people confidence that their cups are actually being recycled into high-quality new products. That kind of clarity is key to changing habits.”
More Than Just a Scheme
The Cup Collective is also supported by the Irish Paper Packaging Circularity Alliance (IPPCA), whose chairperson Fearghal Carroll sees the Ranelagh rollout as a model worth scaling:
“The success of initiatives like this shows what can be achieved when communities, businesses and local authorities work together… Continued investment in recycling infrastructure will be key to scaling these efforts and ensuring long-term impact.”
It’s a reminder that what’s happening in Ranelagh isn’t just a local win. It’s a blueprint. A demonstration that when the right partners align behind a shared goal, results follow.
The Takeaway
At Panda, sustainability isn’t a side project. It’s the very thread running through everything we do. From circular economy partnerships like The Cup Collective, to how we think about the future of waste infrastructure across Ireland, we’re in this for the long game.
Want to see what else we’re involved in? Head to our News & Insights to learn more.
And if you run a takeaway coffee business in Ranelagh and want to get involved, visit ranelaghcupproject.com.
