Solutions for Recyclable
Hot Beverage Cups

Consumers are always on the move, enjoying their coffee or tea throughout the day. They expect their hot drink cups to deliver consistent, reliable performance—keeping beverages hot and contained within the cup. Just as important, they want to savor every sip without anything interfering with the rich aroma and flavor of their drink. While most people don’t think about the many challenging conditions paper hot cups endure, those of us who serve this market always keep them top-of-mind. That’s why Michelman coatings are designed to protect the integrity of paper cups while letting the true character of the beverages they contain shine through.

What happens to a cup after a beverage is enjoyed is also incredibly important. Today’s consumers care about sustainability, and they want to know their choices support a cleaner planet. That’s why it’s so important to develop end-of-life solutions that help keep cups out of landfills and off the ground. Michelman’s water-based dispersions support recyclability and contain considerably less material than typical polyethylene (PE) film coatings once dried, helping brands achieve plastic reduction goals. Michelman is committed to creating coatings that not only perform during use but also help ensure that paper cups can have a more circular, better end-of-life.

 

Paper Cup Performance Requirements

When you use Michelman’s water-based coatings instead of PE film liners for paper cups, you are not just implementing a more eco-friendly solution, you are positioning your brand to meet global sustainability requirements.

Key performance characteristics that need to be incorporated into the design of any hot cup include the following:

Performance Attributes
  • Water and oil resistance
  • Moderate MVTR
  • Robust heat seal to prevent leakage
  • Strong organoleptic performance to avoid impact on flavor and odor
Regulatory Compliance
  • Global food contact compliance
  • Repulpability/Recyclability
 

High Quality Cups Convey Premium Branding

The texture, body, and overall tactile sensation when drinking a beverage, known as “mouthfeel” in the industry, has a strong influence over our enjoyment of drinks like hot coffee or tea. Mouthfeel can be impacted by subtle shifts in viscosity, astringency, and temperature. Cups that deliver a clean, pleasant mouthfeel help consumers have the intended brand experience, every time. 

 

Beverage Composition Creates Specific Challenges

Hot beverages usually contain more than just coffee or tea. Milk, aggressive creamers, extra shots of concentrated espresso, syrup, sugar, and artificial sweeteners are just a few of the additional ingredients that may be added to hot drinks. Each of these additional ingredients alters the beverage's chemical composition, introducing additional performance challenges for paper cups.

Paper Cup Solutions Providing Sustainability AND Performance
 

The Right Coatings Can Improve Production Efficiency

The coating you select for your hot cup can have a significant impact on production efficiency. Here are some parameters to consider:

 

Michem® Coat Solutions for Paper Cups

Our water-based coatings for paper cups replace PE, eliminating the need to separate the linings during repulping. This makes the process cleaner, simpler, and more efficient for both energy use and yields of usable fiber, enabling wider recyclability for increased circularity.

 
Paper Cup Solutions Providing Sustainability AND Performance

Michem® Coat 9100

Certified recyclable in more than 20 countries, Michem® Coat 9100 is a heat seal coating for paper that provides water and oil resistance, as well as moderate MVTR. This coating has excellent global food contact compliance and has repulpability/recyclability certifications in multiple regions for typical hot cup constructions.

RECYCLABLE EXCELLENT WATER BARRIER STRONG HEAT SEAL NO IMPACT ON TASTE FOOD CONTACT COMPLIANCE RESISTANCE TO SOFTENING LOW ODOR MODERATE GREASE & OIL RESISTANCE
RECYCLABLE EXCELLENT WATER BARRIER STRONG HEAT SEAL NO IMPACT ON TASTE FOOD CONTACT COMPLIANCE RESISTANCE TO SOFTENING LOW ODOR MODERATE GREASE & OIL RESISTANCE
 

Michem® Coat 9250

Michem® Coat 9250 is our latest innovation driving more sustainable paper cup solutions. Enhanced performance benefits of Michem® Coat 9250 include:

  • Higher total solids
  • Supports the full sensory profile of the beverage, ensuring consumers can fully appreciate its aroma, flavor, and texture
  • Enhanced resistance to aggressive coffee, creamers, sweeteners, and syrups
  • Increased versatility to run on a wider range of manufacturing equipment, from ultrasonic to the highest speed commercial cup formers
  • Exceptional heat seal performance, including on high-speed lines with shorter dwell times, where it achieves industry-leading fiber tear results
Paper Cup Solutions Providing Sustainability AND Performance
 

Global Compliance

Michelman’s hot cup coatings are designed to meet the demands of global recyclability requirements. Although customers who seek compliance certification need to have their final structures independently tested, some examples of our most recent testing, completed for Michem® Coat 9250, include:

 

Benefits vs. PE and PLA Linings

Michelman Coatings vs. PE
  • Significant reduction in the amount of plastic
  • Fewer microplastics generated
  • Improved circularity and enhanced fiber recovery
  • More energy efficient during the repulping/recycling process, with better fiber yields

Michelman Coatings vs. PLA
  • Significant reduction in the amount of plastic
  • Fewer microplastics generated
  • Improved circularity and enhanced fiber recovery. While PLA can support industrial compostability, it is not typically recyclable, which limits the access to circular systems for PLA lined cups
  • More energy efficient during the repulping/recyling process, with better fiber yields
  • Michelman's water-based coatings generally maintain superior structural integrity when exposed to high temperatures and boiling water compared to PLA linings, which can lose rigidity with high heat
  • Paper with Michelman coatings typically generates less production scrap, since PLA lined paper is not generally recyclable
  • Paper with Michelman coatings is capable of running on high-speed cup forming equipment with minimal process adjustments, unlike most PLA-lined paper
  • In some regions Michelman's water-based coatings can also be more economical than PLA cups
 

World Class Production Support

Michelman supports the seamless integration of Michem® Coat 9100 or Michem® Coat 9250 into your production process with a deep bench of application experts who help design and optimize comprehensive coating solutions tailored to your specific end uses.

 

Thinking Ahead

With increasing pressure from consumers, governments, and regulators for companies to reduce their environmental impact and adopt more sustainable business practices, it has never been more important to make your business part of the circular supply chain. Keep up to date with all our essential news and insight to see how Michelman can help you to achieve your sustainability goals.