WinCup Launches First Biodegradable Foam Cup

Ever feel guilty about using disposable containers when you grab that cup of coffee at the corner convenience store? You may not need to in the future.

Stone Mountain-based New WinCup Holdings Inc., a maker of disposable cups, bowls, containers and lips, has launched what the company believes to be the world's first biodegradable foam cup and lid.

The company hopes to market the expandable polystyrene foam cups to companies such as Coca Cola, which also sells cups, and Food Buy, which provides buying power for smaller companies that purchase cups, for example convenience stores and fast-food restaurants, said Fran Alexay, director of marketing at WinCup.

The company has been working on developing the product for about a year, Alexay said, investing a "significant amount of dollars and time."

Called Vio, the cups were shown to biodegrade an average of 14.2 percent in the first 133 days of testing in conditions that simulated a biologically active landfill. 

"We don't have any indication that it won't" fully biodegrade over time, Alexay said.