Nothing wants to revolutionise the takeaway paper cup

Florida-based Nothing has created hot and cold paper takeaway cups with built-in lids that are designed to be compostable.

In the past two years, Nothing has created two versions of its proprietary cups, which feature elongated sides that fold down to become lids and a water-based coating that allows for at-home composting.

It hopes that these designs will propel it to becoming a household name in the paper cup market.

"If you were to stop anyone on the street, they could maybe name one or two cup companies, maybe just one," Nothing co-founder Brandon Leeds told Dezeen. "The goal is to be the other one."

First manufacturing paper straws, co-founders Brandon and Jordan Leeds, a coder and a product designer, respectively, became disillusioned by what they saw as greenwashing in the field, with companies serving paper straws in plastic cups.

"We thought it was weird that paper straws were being put into plastic cups with plastic lids, and that's when we had the idea for a cup with a built-in lid," Brandon Leeds said.

Created at a time when researchers have shown that some bioplastics do not degrade at the rate originally thought, the goal was to create a product that was usable while being "sustainable".

The cups are designed to decompose in 180 days and are accredited for home composting with TÜV's OK compost HOME – a certification that verifies a product will decompose in a low-heat, back garden environment.

They are coated with a water-based coating that binds to the paper fibres when they are being formed. Called aqueous dispersion, this method often still features plastic elements, but Brandon Leeds said that the coating they used does not and is certified plastic-free by European product certification body Flustix.

"The cup is then recyclable and also home compostable," he said.

The body of the cup itself is slightly triangular and was designed to fit into the hand. The hot cup has three flaps that fold together and lock down, with a spout for drinking, while the cold cup has four folds that come together and an insert for a straw.

"It's more spill-resistant than a traditional cup and lid," said Brandon Leeds.

As the Nothing cups don't have separate lids, packaging and shipping costs are reduced as well as material costs. According to Brandon Leeds, this also solves storage problems for businesses, as cup lids in bulk take up space in a restaurant.

Although the company is working with thousands of vendors in the US and Canada, Brandon Leeds said he expects some people to be resistant to the change.

"The paper cup was invented in 1907, and nothing has changed in all this time until our cup, so it's been a long time," he said. "People like what they like, and when there's change, they are not always the most open to it, until it becomes the norm."

"You heard so much about paper straws in 2018, 2019," he continued. Now no one even talks about them."

The material content of our drinking materials has become an issue beyond the design world, with Donald Trump taking a stance against paper straws in a 2025 executive order phasing out government use of plastic straw alternatives.

Others have insisted on reusable cups as the best solution to waste produced by to-go containers. Last year, Seymourpowell combined a resueable water bottle and coffee thermos into a single product.

The photography is courtesy of Nothing. 

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