2.5 billion single-use coffee cups are thrown away each year in the UK.

Leading coffee chains are looking for a long-term solution to the single-use issue, but it’s clearly not going to be something that will be solved overnight.

As Starbucks look to the future to find an answer, they are also driven to finding a solution they can implement today.

Taking on this challenge, they discovered the answer didn’t lie in removing the cups but reusing them.

Magic Beans are a range of vegetable starter pots made entirely from rubbish. The pots, trays and fertiliser (used coffee beans - a natural fertiliser) all came from Starbucks’ bins.

The pots included packs of vegetable seeds and simple growing instructions.

Launched in National Gardening Week, they were given away at stores in London’s most green deprived borough. The pots were also dropped at local schools to help promote recycling and healthy eating at an early age.

By repurposing their trash into an entirely new product range, Starbucks proved that a rubbish idea can sometimes turn out to be a rather good one.

Each component fitted the new product perfectly. From the cups that seamlessly became the growing pots, the lids that turned into water trays and the used coffee beans that made an excellent natural fertiliser.

With the exception of the seeds, every single part of the campaign was recycled. The seed packets, cup stickers, even the point-of-sale units; constructed from old wooden crates with hand-painted signage to avoid unnecessary printing.

We selected seeds for their ease of growing in-home and being common ingredients found in healthy recipes to help promote a cleaner lifestyle.

We even recycled the logo. The overgrown mermaid landed the initiative while the Starbucks cup acted as a long-term reminder in the nation’s homes of Starbucks’ recycling drive.

By transforming Starbucks’ trash, we were able to create a new product range from previously considered single-use items.

• The initiative perfectly delivered against Starbucks’ promise to become a more sustainable business while reinforcing their brand positioning - The Power of Coffee.

• By creating an idea that lived on in consumers’ homes, the range acted as a visible reminder of the lengths Starbucks are going regarding recycling.

• 2500 cups for the initial drop in Islington, London.

• Stocks ran out in the first week.

• Rolled out nationwide.