Community Partnership | Memphis, TN
More than 182,000 households in the Memphis area are now able to recycle paper cups alongside already accepted foodservice packaging, including: paper bags, pizza boxes, molded fiber containers, as well as PET, polypropylene (PP), and rigid polystyrene (PS) cups and containers.
An educational campaign, supported in part through a grant from FPI, will spread awareness in both English and Spanish about the newly accepted material and recycling best practices.
The city kicked-off the campaign on June 1 with a press conference at the Mud Island Recycling Drop-off Center. Attendees were treated to free coffee from Crazy Gander Coffee, served in paper cups that can be recycled. The first 35 attendees also received a gift card for Crazy Gander Coffee.
The city sends its collected recyclables to Republic’s materials recovery facility (MRF) in Memphis, where the cups are recovered and baled with other paper to be converted into new products, diverting waste from landfills and advancing the circular economy.
To learn more about Memphis’ recycling initiative and see a list of all acceptable curbside recyclables, visit https://recycle.memphistn.gov/.
Foodservice Packaging Materials Accepted
Paper cups*
Paper bags
Pizza boxes
Molded fiber food packaging
PET cups
PET clamshells/containers/trays
Polypropylene (PP) cups
Polypropylene (PP) tubs/containers/trays
Rigid Polystyrene (PS) cups
Rigid Polystyrene (PS) clamshells/containers
Alumninum Foil Food Packaging
*New items added during partnership
