Coffee giant Starbucks has revealed plans to develop a recyclable cup by 2012 as part of its bid to improve its environmental performance.

The company's head office in Seattle said this week that it was lobbying city mayors across the US to improve recycling facilities and also working with its packaging suppliers to develop what it termed a "comprehensive recyclable cup solution" by 2012.

Starbucks coffee cups, which are primarily made from cartonboard, use a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) liner which protects the paper from the coffee but renders the cups non-recyclable.

The company said as long ago as 2007 that it was considering alternatives to the LDPE lining, including the possibility of using a bioplastic.

For its current project, Starbucks has also called on a range of players including raw materials suppliers, cup manufacturers, retailers and drinks makers, recyclers, NGOs and academic sectors.

Starbucks director of environmental impact Jim Hanna said: "Scalability is critical. We can only achieve [the 2012 target] if we take a holistic approach and join forces with our entire value chain."

It is so far unclear how the project will affect Starbucks' coffee cups and recycling efforts in the UK.

However, the company said that it was currently testing the recyclability of its cups in the corrugated board waste stream in a pilot project.