AU2019100897A4

AU2019100897A4 - Oxo-biodegradable drinking vessel

Info

Publication number: AU2019100897A4
Application number: AU2019100897A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Richard Tunks
Original assignee: Rte Custodians Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Rte Custodians Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2019-08-13
Filing date: 2019-08-13
Publication date: 2019-09-19
Anticipated expiration: 2027-08-13

Abstract

A cup comprising, a substantially frustoconical body made from a fibrous material; and a base extending across an end of the frustoconical body to seal one end of the frustoconical body so as to receive a liquid therein; wherein an inner surface of the body and the base that is in contact with the liquid has a plastic coating applied thereto, wherein the plastic coating has an oxo biodegradable additive that facilitates degradation and then biodegradation of the plastic coating following use of the cup.

Description

OXO-BIODEGRADABLE DRINKING VESSEL

2019100897 13 Aug 2019

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to disposable drinking implements and in particular, to a disposable drinking vessel and straw having enhanced oxo5 biodegradable characteristics.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent times, due to an increase in the popularity and availability of take-away outlets and cafes, there has been a large increase in the use of disposable cups and tubular vessels more commonly referred to as straws for consuming a variety of io different types of beverages. Disposable cups and straws offer a convenient form of serving and consuming beverages, and provide individuals with an option to consume the beverage at the premises where the beverage is purchased, or at some alternative location. Due to the relatively inexpensive nature of the cup and/or straw, they can be simply disposed of upon consumption of the beverage by is placing the cup and/or straw in an appropriate bin where it will be collected with other refuse for processing and disposal.

Most disposable cups and non-plastic straws are made from a paper or cardboard that is lined with a wax or plastic material that functions as a barrier to prevent the liquid from saturating the cardboard and destroying the integrity of the cup or 20 straw. As a result of the plastic coating applied to the cups, most paper cups are unable to be recycled and/or composted due to the difficulty in separating the plastic internal coating from the cardboard body of the cup. Non-plastic straws generally comprise paper straws that are coated with a wax or veneer that render them unsuitable for the recycling streams. Most conventional paper straws are 25 unsuitable for such an application, other than for short time interval, because they absorb the liquids in which are situated and become unusable.

To address this issue, there has been a push to reduce the general consumer reliance on disposable cups and straws by encouraging people to carry and supply their own reusable cups and straws for use in cafes and the like. However, whilst 30 such a push has been taken up by some members or groups of the population, it requires individuals to carry their own cups and straws with them which is often inconvenient and also requires constant washing of the cup, which can lead to hygiene issues.

Thus, there is a need to supply disposable cups and straws that utilise the

2019100897 13 Aug 2019 convenience of existing disposable cups and straws but which are capable of OxoBiodegrading to minimise harmful effects on the environment and reduce impacts on landfill.

The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not 5 intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the following prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part.

io STATEMENT OF INVENTION

According to a first aspect, there is provided a cup comprising, a substantially frustoconical body made from a fibrous material; and a base extending across an end of the frustoconical body to seal one end of the frustoconical body so as to receive a liquid therein;

is wherein an inner surface of the body and the base that is in contact with the liquid has a plastic coating applied thereto, wherein the plastic coating has an oxo-biodegradable additive that facilitates degradation and then biodegradation of the plastic coating following use of the cup.

The oxo-biodegradable additive may comprises around lwt% of the plastic 20 coating. The plastic coating may comprise PET, polypropylene (PP), or polyethylene (PE).

The oxo-biodegradable additive may be BD 93835 or similar codes marketed under the brand name REVERTE™ by Wells Plastics Limited.

The fibrous material may be cardboard or paper.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tubular drinking vessel comprising a tubular body made from a fibrous material; the tubular body being open at both ends so as to receive and draw a liquid therethrough; and wherein an inner surface of the tubular body and at least a partial 30 portion of the outer surface of the tubular body have a plastic coating applied thereto, the plastic coating having an oxo-biodegradable additive that facilitates degradation and then biodegradation of the plastic coating following use of the vessel.

2019100897 13 Aug 2019

The oxo-biodegradable additive may comprises around lwt% of the plastic coating. The plastic coating may comprise PET, polypropylene (PP), or polyethylene (PE).

The additive may be BD 93835 or similar codes marketed under the brand name 5 REVERTE™ by Wells Plastics Limited.

The fibrous material may be cardboard or paper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a cup in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a disassembled view of the cup of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a side view of a straw made in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

is DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred features of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention.

The drinking vessel of the present invention will be described below in relation to a conventional disposable coffee cup made from a cardboard or paper material as is well known in the art. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention could be equally applied to any variety of drinking vessels or food and beverage containers where plastic is employed to provide a stable surface from which food and/or beverages can be consumed.

Referring to Figure 1, an embodiment of a cup 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is depicted. The cup 10 is made from a fibrous material such as paper/cardboard and in configured to be disposable after a single use. As mentioned above, the cup 10 may take a variety of other forms and may be reusable, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

The cup 10 has a frusto-conical body 12 having a base 14 fitted to a lower end

2019100897 13 Aug 2019 thereof, namely the end of the body 12 having the narrowest opening. The base 14 encloses the end of the body 12 to enable the body 12 to contain a fluid therein, such as coffee or any other suitable beverage. The upper end or wider diameter opening of the body 12 remains open and has a lip 16 formed around the opening 5 thereof to facilitate drinking from the cup. Both the body 12 and the base 14 is made from a fibrous material such as cardboard or paper.

The outer surface 15 of the cup 10 may be configured to reduce heat transfer from the fluid contained within the cup to the user’s hands holding the cup 10 during use. In this regard, the outer surface 15 of the cup 10 may comprise corrugations io or be embossed (not shown) which act to provide a degree of insulation about the cup 10, or the outer surface 15 may comprise layers which act to minimise heat transfer from the liquid to the hand of the user.

As can be seen more clearly in Fig. 2, in order for the cup to hold liquid without saturating the fibrous material of the body 12 and base 14, an inner surface 18 of is the body 12 is treated with a layer of hydrophobic material, such as plastic or wax.

Typically, the inner surface 18 of the body is treated with a plastic coating, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which has been shown to be suitably stable so as not to leech into the fluid and contaminate the beverage. In some circumstances for example cold beverages the outer surfaces 20 of the cup may also be coated so as to avoid condensation which would affect the performance of the cup. Therefore, the inner and outer surfaces are coated with the same lamination Oxo-Biodegradable additive polymer.

Polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET are petroleum-based coatings that significantly reduce the ability of the body 12 and the base 14 to biodegrade. 25 Polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET films are used in a variety of applications due to the optical, physical, mechanical, thermal and chemical properties. Hence, in order to degrade a cup 10 having such a plastic inner lining, it is necessary to separate the plastic lining from the cup body, which is onerous and difficult to do without access to special machines. As such, most cups 10 having such a plastic 30 lining will be non-compostable or degrade and enter landfill.

The present invention addresses this problem by putting an additive into the plastic layer lining the inside wall 18 of the body 12 and base 14. By placing an oxo-bio degradable additive into the polyethylene, polypropylene, or PET layer of the cup 10, oxidation of the molecular chain of the polymer layer is promoted when the 35 cup is exposed to outdoor conditions suited to degradation.

In essence, the additive, for example additive BD 93835 or similar codes marketed

2019100897 13 Aug 2019 under the brand name REVERTE™ by Wells Plastics Limited, is added to the polymer film at 1 wt%. This causes oxidative reactions to occur within the molecular chains found in polymer to degrade the molecular structure of the material. As the polymer chains present in the material break-up, oxygen is 5 introduced into the structure which transforms the polymer from long strands to much smaller strands. Carbonyl and Carboxyl are formed which act as a catalyst to promote further degradation of the material thereby reducing the physical strength and elongation properties of the material such that it becomes more brittle and is capable of breaking down.

The oxidation is initiated through the action of exposure to UV light acting upon the ions in the Reverte. After reaching a reduced molecular weight and at the point of embrittlement the process of microbial activity typical of a Biodegradation environment which ensures that the cups 10 having this additive contained in the inner layer thereof do not degrade on the shelf, awaiting use. Rather, following is use and disposal the conditions acting on the cup are such that the polymer material in caused to oxidise and break down.

Referring to Fig. 3, a tubular drinking vessel 20 is depicted in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The tubular drinking vessel 20 functions as a conventional “straw” to provide a vessel through which fluid can be sucked for 20 consumption by a user. The vessel 20 is in the form of a tubular body made from a fibrous material that is open at both ends so as to receive and draw liquid therethrough. Both the inner surface and the outer surface of the vessel 20 are in contact with a liquid during use. As a result, both the inner and outer surfaces of the vessel 20 are provided with a plastic coating 22 and 21 applied thereto. The 25 plastic coating 22, 21 has an oxo-biodegradable additive that facilitates degradation and then biodegradation of the plastic coating 22, 21 following use of the vessel 20. The oxo-biodegradable additive comprises around lwt% of the plastic film and the plastic coating may be PET, or polypropylene, or polyethylene. The inside coating 22 completely covers the inside surface of the vessel 20 and the 30 outside coating 21 preferably completely covers the outside surface of the vessel

20.

It will be appreciated that the cup and straw of the present invention is capable of using conventional methods of manufacture, including an inner layer of polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), material, and is 35 also able to be to biodegrade without the need to remove the inner layer of polymer material. Such a cup provides Oxo-Biodegradable capabilities to ensure that the cups do not merely end up in land fill and become an environmental hazard, rather

2019100897 13 Aug 2019 they break down over time and add to the Biomass.

Throughout the specification and claims the word “comprise” and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. That is, the word “comprise” 5 and its derivatives will be taken to indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components, steps or features that it directly references, but also other components, steps or features not specifically listed, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and io variations may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A cup comprising, a substantially frustoconical body made from a fibrous material; and a base extending across an end of the frustoconical body to seal one

5 end of the frustoconical body so as to receive a liquid therein;

wherein an inner surface of the body and the base that is in contact with the liquid has a plastic coating applied thereto, wherein the plastic coating has an oxo-biodegradable additive that facilitates degradation and then biodegradation of the plastic coating following use of the cup.

10
2. A cup according to claim 1, wherein the oxo-biodegradable additive comprises lwt% of the plastic film.
3. A cup according to claim 1, wherein the plastic coating is PET, or polypropylene, or polyethylene.
4. A cup according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the additive

15 is BD 93835 or similar codes marketed under the brand name REVERTE™ by Wells Plastics Limited.
5. A cup according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fibrous material is cardboard or paper.
6. A tubular drinking vessel comprising

20 a tubular body made from a fibrous material; the tubular body being open at both ends so as to receive and draw a liquid therethrough; and wherein an inner surface of the tubular body and at least a partial portion of the outer surface of the tubular body have a plastic coating applied thereto, the plastic coating having an oxo-biodegradable additive

25 that facilitates degradation and then biodegradation of the plastic coating following use of the vessel.
7. A tubular drinking vessel according to claim 6, wherein the oxobiodegradable additive comprises lwt% of the plastic film.
8. A tubular drinking vessel according to claim 6, wherein the plastic coating

30 is PET, or polypropylene, or polyethylene.
9. A tubular drinking vessel according to claim 7, wherein the additive is BD 93835 or similar codes marketed under the brand name REVERTE™ by Wells Plastics Limited.
10. A tubular drinking vessel according to any one of claims 6-10, wherein

35 the fibrous material is cardboard or paper.