Whilst we’ve been enjoying the surprising, yet glorious weather of late and soaking up a few much-needed rays, there is a niggling at the back of many of our minds. There’s no escaping the fact that these early spring days are pleasurable, but the backdrop reason of the results of climate change is something that is having a huge impact on our planet and everyone who lives here.

As parents, we are so conscious of the impact of our choices today on the lives of our children tomorrow. As our little ones grow up, we want them to do so comfortably, in a world that is thriving and always improving not dwindling because of lack of care and attention in our day to day actions. Recycling is one of those little things that we can all do to make a big difference and a lot of you will already do this with your food packaging and paper waste. But what about your children’s toys, dinner ware, clothes and more once they have reached the end of their use?

This is something we here at Babycup think about plenty. The baby industry is one which creates a huge amount of waste, due to high consumerism for often short-lived items and (in many cases) a lack of recycling options for much of it. This is an area where Babycup First Cup is truly exceptional and stands out from the crowd! Our little cups see your kids through from birth – 2 years + as the ideal receptacle for cup-feeding in the first weeks or months of life, from 4 months if practising sipping and from 6 months to 2 years and beyond for happy, healthy drinking! And all without the need for any cupboard clogging extras. But once you’re ready to part with them, you can do so without harming the planet. Our Babycup First Cup is recycling ‘number 5’ polypropylene, which is 100% recyclable!

And our eco-friendly news doesn’t stop there – to help you busy mummies, daddies and caring carers, we’ve put a scheme in place where once your baby has moved on from their Babycup First Cup years you can return your cups to us so we can recycle them for you. Just one small way we can thank you for your custom and support and for using our recyclable sippy cups.

Here’s how…

• If your local recycling plant doesn’t take items referenced as ‘5’, or ‘PP’, we are happy for you to return your Babycup First Cups to us and we will arrange the recycling for you.
• Please email us at recyclemybfc@babycup.co.uk with the subject line ‘Recycle my BFCs’ and we will email you back with the address to send your cleaned Babycup First Cups to.

Why Recycle?

So, why is recycling so important? The benefits this simple task offers the planet are vast!

• Making new paper from recycled materials, rather than starting from scratch, uses approximately 70% less energy even when comparing all associated costs including transport.
• Recycling reduces the need for raw materials. This means that the rainforests can be preserved and habitat destruction is halted.
• Both the process of deforestation and the harmful chemicals and greenhouses gasses emitted from landfills is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. There are over 1,500 landfill sites in the UK, and in 2001, these sites produced a quarter of the UK’s emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
• One of the most important things we can do to safeguard our children’s future is to do everything we can to conserve natural resources. Recycling helps take care of important raw materials and protects natural habitats for the future.
• Current UK recycling is estimated to save more than 18 million tonnes of CO2 a year – the equivalent to taking 5 million cars off the road. The more we do to cut carbon emissions, the cleaner our world will be in years to come.
• Recycling can help to save our seas! Around 8 million metric tonnes of plastic (largely single-use plastic) is floating in our oceans – a result of it been thrown away rather than recycled. Choosing to recycle your plastics will make a huge difference. Opting for long-lasting, quality items in the first place (like our Babycup First Cup!) will also help to put a stop to this: less items bought, less waste, better on your pocket and better for the planet.