From now on, the take-away cups used in all Starbucks coffee shops in Europe will be fully compostable. A green breakthrough that affects at least half a billion cups a year, according to calculations by Adam Turner, director of sustainability at the U.S. giant. The new cups will be just as thermal as the traditional ones, only now they will be able to go safely into the compost bin. The previous generation of paper cups were made of paper coated with polyethylene, a plastic material that is great at retaining heat but difficult to separate. Now, however, instead of polyethylene, Qwarzo, a special mineral coating that is just as effective at keeping coffee hot but without disposal problems, is used. Qwarzo technology is an all-Italian patent: the eponymous company, based in Rovato (in the province of Brescia), was founded in 2019 based on the intuition and several patents of engineer Luca Panzeri. A cup made with Qwarzo coating allows 98-99% paper recovery and 0.01% waste. Best of all, it is free of chemicals used in industry to give materials advanced strength capabilities, but with the downside of increasing health and environmental risks.