The honest truth
about your daily cup.

TRUE • SIMPLE • RESPONSIBLE

"Made responsibly. Dispose responsibly."
Our Aqueous-coated range is designed to work within existing waste streams.

Our Principles

True

We believe in clarity over claims.

HONEST™ provides factual, balanced information about materials and disposal — without exaggeration, assumptions, or greenwashing.

We don’t label products as “plastic-free” when they aren’t, and we don’t promise outcomes that depend on infrastructure outside our control.

Simple

We believe responsibility should be easy to understand.

HONEST™ avoids complicated messaging and technical jargon.

Clear instructions, simple explanations, and practical guidance help people make the right decision — whether they’re a consumer, café, or supplier.

Responsible

We believe real progress works with real systems.

HONEST™ products are designed with UK waste infrastructure in mind, focusing on what can realistically be recycled or managed today.

Responsibility isn’t about perfection — it’s about choosing better materials and supporting correct disposal.

HONEST isn’t about perfect solutions.
it’s about giving people the right information to make better choices.

Material Science

The Aqueous
Difference.

Traditional cups use plastic lining. Our dispersion coating is applied like ink — invisible to the recycling process.

Fiber Recovery

Mills can recover up to 98% of paper fibers.

Zero Microplastics

Breaks down cleanly without plastic residue.

Honest information. Real-world disposaL.

HONEST™ cups are designed to reduce unnecessary plastic and improve end-of-life outcomes — but we believe it’s just as important to be clear about what is and isn’t possible today.

Stopping The Myth of Plastic Free

Need copy for this.

Do you want the aqueous lining in this section rather than above?

FAQ

What Is An
Aqueous Coating?

An aqueous coating is a water-based latex emulsion applied to the inside of a paper cup to make it waterproof.

Cups Lined with this material:

Do not use PE or PLA plastic linings

Are recyclable as a material

Can be home or industrially compostable in the right conditions

However, how a cup is actually recycled depends on separated waste stream availability and the UK waste infrastructure, not just the material itself.
There is currently no disposable cup that is completely plastic-free. Any cup designed to hold hot liquid needs a barrier of some kind.

Can A Cup Go in Paper Recycling?

As a material — yes.
In normal mixed paper recycling — usually no.

As a result:

All paper cups should not be placed in standard paper or mixed recycling bins

Putting cups in these bins often means they will not be recycled

Although hot paper cups are recyclable as a material, paper recycling facilities currently remove all cups during the sorting unless your cup has been disposed of and collected in a seperate cup disposable waste stream.

Please don’t be a wishcycler — placing cups in the wrong bin can do more harm than good.

How Do I Dispose My Honest Cup?

You can dispose of your cup in 3 easy steps!

Step 01: Empty the Cup

Make sure the cup is empty. No need to wash.

Step 02: Check Waste Stream avaliability

Route A: If your site has a dedicated paper cup recycling bin or works with a specialist cup recycling scheme.
Place the cup in the cup recycling bin. These schemes are designed to correctly process paper cups, including aqueous-coated cups. Find your closest recyling point here - cuprecyclingscheme.co.uk

Route B: The site has a food waste / composting collection bin in place, place the cup in the composting stream. Our aqueous coating can also be home composted where facilities allow.

Step 03: No Cup recycling avaliable?

If no specialist cup recycling or composting is available, use general waste. This is the correct choice white out to avoid contaminating other recycling streams. Or take the cup home and put into the recycling, compost or general bin.

Steps at Home →

The honest truth about your daily cup.

The Aqueous Difference.