A new collaboration between paper mill James Cropper and Hallmark is turning disposable coffee cups into a series of green greetings cards.

James Cropper is providing responsibly-sourced paper pulp sourced from its CupCycling facility to the card manufacturer – it claims the recycling process is the first of its kind in the world dedicated to upcycling take-away cups.

The new partnership says the move will help to reduce some of the 2.5 billion take-away cups that are estimated to be thrown away in the UK each year – to date, James Cropper has recycled more than 100 million coffee cups but has the capacity to convert 500 million per year into papers for packaging in a wide range of colours.

The cards will be available to buy from October 2019 and all 44 cards and envelopes in the collection are 100% recyclable.

Alison Murnane at Hallmark Cards, said: “We already make Hallmark cards from responsibly sourced paper, so we were delighted to work with James Cropper to help drive forward another sustainable way to make an impact by taking some of the today’s waste and turning it into a beautiful card that creates a lasting moment for tomorrow.”