Blast Studio & Cupsan: Turning coffee cup waste into beautiful interiors
The UK generates millions of disposable coffee cups every year, many of which are challenging to recycle due to their plastic linings. The National Cup Recycling Scheme, managed by Valpak, is designed to improve collection and recycling of these cups, turning waste into valuable new resources
One powerful example of what recycled cup materials can become is Cupsan, a biomaterial developed by London-based design practice Blast Studio. By turning used coffee cups into functional panels and interior components, this project shows how high-quality design and circular economy principles can be combined to give cups a second life.
About Cupsan
Blast Studio is a London-based design and material innovation studio founded to reimagine urban waste into sustainable, beautiful materials. One of its flagship innovations is Cupsan, a versatile biomaterial made by processing used coffee cups together with a natural, plastic-free binder to create high-density boards suitable for wall panelling, furniture, and bespoke interior elements.
A key advantage of Cupsan’s process is its simplicity and efficiency: the entire coffee cup can be used, there’s no need to strip the plastic lining out beforehand. Instead, the cups are shredded and sterilised, and the resulting material is incorporated into the biomaterial mix. This means that a whole cup goes into the production process, reducing preprocessing steps and improving the overall recycling yield.
Once shredded, the cup fibres are mixed with a plant-based, plastic-free binder and pressed into a dense material that combines strength and aesthetic versatility. Each square metre of Cupsan typically contains the equivalent of around 840 recycled coffee cups.
London Coffee Factory
One of the most illustrative examples of Cupsan in use is the interior fit-out for the London Coffee Factory in Bermondsey, London. For this project Blast Studio collaborated with architecture firm Stories & Spaces to produce custom raw Cupsan boards in colours such as Denim Blue, Forest Green and Charcoal. These boards were used as shelving and panel elements within a timber structure made from reclaimed wood.
Key outcomes of the London Coffee Factory project:
- Over one tonne of recycled coffee cups were transformed into high-quality Cupsan boards for the installation
- The material delivered a distinctive aesthetic and robust performance, proving that recycled cups can be repurposed into premium interior components
- The project showcased how localised cup recycling can feed into creative and architectural applications, aligning with the aims of the National Cup Recycling Scheme to divert waste from landfill and create sustainable supply chains
Additional applications and material flexibility
Beyond the London Coffee Factory, Cupsan has been applied in a variety of contexts, demonstrating its adaptability and design potential:
- Happy Sky Bakery – Stone-like cladding and pendant lights made from recycled coffee cup waste were integrated into the bakery’s interiors, showing how waste can also become part of a brand’s visual identity
- Opendesk Phone Booth – Cupsan was used inside a wood phone booth designed by Opendesk, highlighting how the material can be applied in furniture and architectural components
- Exhibitions like Material Matters 2025 showcased a range of furniture pieces made from Cupsan, illustrating its versatility from raw boards to sculptural forms
Why this matters for Cup Recycling
Efficient use of waste
Blast Studio is not limited to accepting PE-lined cups and can accept any type of cup in the Cupsan production process. By allowing the whole cup to be shredded and incorporated into the material, without needing to manually separate linings, Blast Studio’s approach maximises material recovery and simplifies preprocessing. This flexibility is an important consideration for scalable recycling solutions, as it enables a broader range of collected cups to be transformed into high-value products rather than being excluded due to material composition.
High-value market creation
Cupsan transforms recovered coffee cups into a premium design material with real use in interiors and architecture, helping to create stable demand for recycled cup content and strengthen markets for cup recycling.Local Circular Economy
By sourcing and processing cups locally in London, Blast Studio demonstrates how urban waste can feed local manufacturing, reducing transportation emissions and fostering sustainable material loops within cities.
Conclusion
Blast Studio and Cupsan is a powerful demonstration of circular design thinking in practice. It goes beyond simply diverting coffee cups from landfill: by converting whole cups into strong, beautiful materials, it adds new economic and aesthetic value to what was once waste. Through collaborations with designers and architects, and by integrating recycled content into real world projects, Cupsan helps bring the principles of the National Cup Recycling Scheme to life, showing that with innovation and purpose, single-use waste can become a resource for sustainable design and production.
