Roasters are increasingly using more environmentally friendly materials for their cups and bags as worries about the effects of coffee packaging on the environment grow.
This is essential for the survival of the earth as well as the long-term success of roasting businesses.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, which considerably contributes to global warming, according to current estimates.
As a result, many people have converted from packaging made of difficult-to-recycle materials to compostable and biodegradable materials in an effort to cut down on the quantity of waste that ends up in landfills.
Despite the fact that the two terms refer to two very different types of packing, they are sometimes used interchangeably despite their similarities.
What do biodegradable and compostable materials mean?
The ingredients used to create biodegradable packaging will gradually disintegrate into smaller pieces. The thing and the environment it is in determine how long it takes to decay.
Examples of factors that affect how long the degradation process will take include light, water, oxygen levels, and temperature.
Technically, a wide range of items can be categorized as biodegradable because the only need is that the substance disintegrate. However, 90% of a product must degrade within six months in order for it to be formally labeled as biodegradable in accordance with ISO 14855-1.
The market for biodegradable packaging has experienced fast growth in recent years and was estimated to be worth $82 billion in 2020. Numerous well-known companies have either switched to biodegradable products or committed to using them more frequently in the future, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle.
In contrast, compostable packaging is comprised of substances that, given the appropriate circumstances, decompose into biomass (a sustainable energy source), carbon dioxide, and water.
According to the EN 13432 European standard, compostable materials must have broken down within 12 weeks of disposal. Additionally, they must finish biodegrading in six months.
The ideal conditions for composting are a warm, humid environment with high quantities of oxygen. This promotes the breakdown of organic matter by bacteria through a process known as anaerobic digestion.
Businesses that deal with food are considering compostable packaging as a replacement for plastic or biodegradable materials. As an illustration, Conscious Chocolate utilizes packaging with vegetable-based inks, whereas Waitrose employs compostable packaging for its ready-made meals.
In essence, all biodegradable packaging is compostable, but not all compostable packaging is biodegradable.
Cons and benefits of compostable coffee packaging
Compostable materials have the crucial benefit of decomposing into environmentally safe organic molecules. These substances may even be advantageous for the soil.
In the UK, two out of every five families either compost on-site or have access to communal facilities. This makes it possible for people to cultivate fruits, vegetables, and flowers using compost, increasing sustainability and luring insects and birds to their gardens.
However, contamination due to cross-contamination is one of the problems with compostable materials. Recyclables are delivered to the neighborhood material recovery facility (MRF) when they are recycled at home.
Compostable materials have the potential to contaminate the remaining recyclables at the MRF, preventing them from being processed.
For instance, 30% of mixed recyclables had non-recyclable material in them in 2016.
This indicates that these materials contaminated landfills and oceans. This makes accurate labeling of compostable materials necessary so that consumers may properly dispose of them without compromising other recyclables.
The benefits and drawbacks of biodegradable coffee containers
The simplicity of disposal makes biodegradable material superior to compostable material. Biodegradable materials can be disposed of in regular trash cans.
Then, these materials will either decompose in a landfill or be turned into electricity. To be more precise, biodegradable materials can be converted into biogas and ultimately into biofuel.
Globally, the usage of biofuel is expanding; in the US in 2019, it made up 7% of all fuel consumption. This implies that biodegradable materials can be “recycled” into something helpful in addition to decomposing.
Although biodegradable materials do decompose, the rate of decomposition varies. For instance, it takes an orange peel around six months to completely degrade. A plastic carrier bag, on the other hand, can take up to 1,000 years to totally decompose.
Once a biodegradable product has decomposed, it could have a negative effect on the environment in the area.
For instance, the plastic carrier bag mentioned before will degrade into tiny plastic particles that could endanger wildlife. In the end, these particles might potentially enter the food chain.
What does this signify for companies that roast coffee? Owners must, above all, take care to select packaging that is truly biodegradable and won’t contaminate the environment.
Choosing the best course of action for your coffee shop
Since several nations have outright banned their usage, single-use plastics are now becoming less and less common in the hospitality sector.
The UK government has already outlawed the sale of plastic stirrers and straws, and it is also looking to outlaw polystyrene cups and single-use plastic cutlery.
This implies that there has never been a better time for coffee roasting companies to look into compostable or biodegradable packaging.
But which one is ideal for your company? It relies on a variety of elements, including where your business is located, your financial situation, and the recycling resources you have access to.
One of the most important things to be sure of is appropriate labeling on your packaging, regardless of whether you decide to use biodegradable or compostable takeout cups or bags.
Customers are moving toward sustainability on their own. Nine out of ten individuals, according to a research, are concerned about the state of the environment right now, and 83% of those polled actively participate in recycling.
Customers will know exactly how to dispose of packaging in an environmentally friendly manner by labeling it as either compostable or biodegradable.
For more information about our compostable coffee bags, get in touch with our team.Cyan Pak offers a selection of compostable and biodegradable packaging to fit all company needs, including kraft paper, rice paper, and polylactic acid (PLA), which is formed from starchy plants.
