Nothing Designs a Takeaway Paper Cup With the Lid Built In

Florida-based company Nothing has created hot and cold paper takeaway cups with built-in lids, designed to be compostable at home.

Over the past two years, Nothing has developed two versions of its proprietary cups. Each features elongated sides that fold down to become the lid, plus a water-based coating that allows the cup to break down in a backyard compost heap. Nothing hopes the designs will make it 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."

From paper straws to a cup without a lid

Brandon Leeds, a coder, and his brother Jordan Leeds, a product designer, founded the company manufacturing paper straws. They became disillusioned by what they saw as greenwashing in the field: 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.

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

Certified for home composting

The cups are designed to decompose in 180 days and carry TÜV's OK compost HOME accreditation, a certification verifying that a product will decompose in a low-heat, back garden environment.

The cups are coated with a water-based coating that binds to the paper fibres as the cups are formed. The method, called aqueous dispersion, often still features plastic elements. Brandon Leeds said the coating Nothing uses does not, and it is certified plastic-free by European product certification body Flustix.

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

A triangular body and folding flaps

The cup's body is slightly triangular and designed to fit into the hand. The hot cup has three flaps that fold together and lock down, with a tapered slot serving as a spout. 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.

Because the cups have no separate lids, packaging, shipping and material costs all drop. Brandon Leeds said this also solves storage problems for businesses, since bulk cup lids take up space in a restaurant.

The company already works with thousands of vendors in the US and Canada, but Brandon Leeds expects some resistance 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."

A contested field

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

Others insist reusable cups are the best solution to waste from to-go containers. Last year, design firm Seymourpowell combined a reusable water bottle and coffee thermos into a single product.

Nothing's bet is that a fully compostable, lid-free paper cup can become the default — if consumers can be persuaded to change what they drink from.