Coffee is one of the most desired beverages, and the use of coffee cups is increasing due to the rapid growth of the global coffee market. However, in order to ensure environmental sustainability, industry players are switching to compostable coffee cups. Here we will look at the methods, usage, benefits and different varieties of these eco-friendly coffee cups.

Can coffee cups be composted?

Up until recently, coffee cups were unfortunately not compostable and this created a lot of confusion about the difference between recycling and composting. Coffee cups are made with a thin coating of plastic that can’t be easily separated during the recycling process.

Therefore, Industry players such as Starbucks, have spent a significant amount of money researching and developing a more environmentally sustainable coffee cup material. Their new cup has a compostable lining, so it can be composted or recycled using single-stream recycling.

Compostable cups are usually made from polylactic acid (PLA) plastic. PLA is an environmentally and resource-friendly bio-based plastic made from renewable raw materials such as corn-based resin.

Why is polylactic acid (PLA) a better choice?

Compostable packaging, such as PLA hot cups, has a bioplastic liner. Because this lining is composed of plants, it lowers the consumption of fossil fuels. The product is a polymer with a renewable base.

PLA packaging composts under conditions established by the European Union standard EN134321. Commercial composting facilities have these requirements. Ensure that your product is collected for commercial composting to ensure that it is successfully processed.

PLA cups are not designed to degrade in home composting environments and must be collected for commercial composting.This is to ensure they may be processed and degraded with food or organic items.

Avoiding the landfilling of organic waste eliminates the possibility of the paper component of paper and bio-plastic coffee cups degrading and emitting greenhouse gases such as methane. By ensuring that your PLA goods are successfully collected for commercial composting, you can eliminate the risk of these items emitting greenhouse gases in landfill.

How long does it take for compostable coffee cups to decompose?

In a commercial compost facility that can maintain a consistent temperature of 140 degrees, the PLA cups decompose into carbon dioxide and water in 30–45 days.

However, it can take more than six months for one cup to decompose in a backyard compost bin. Nonetheless, this is still quicker than if they were to end up in a landfill and buried, taking hundreds of years to decompose.

With the goal of diverting waste from landfills and instead diverting it to compost, it seems obvious that cups made of organic material would be preferable to cups made of oil-derived plastic.

Are compostable cups better than plastic?

Yes, compostable cups are better than plastic, because producing PLA uses 65% less energy than producing conventional plastics. It also emits 68% less greenhouse gas and contains no toxins.

Packaging that is biodegradable or compostable decomposes in 60 days. However, certain conditions must be met for these innovative products to degrade efficiently, because they require industrial compostable and biodegradable disposal facilities.

It is estimated that plastic takes 450 years to degrade and will permanently leave traces of toxic residues behind while causing serious environmental consequences.

What are biodegradable coffee cups made from?

Bio-based plastics are derived from plants rather than petroleum. It is made by extracting sugar from plants such as corn and sugarcane to make PLA, which is used to line many compostable coffee cups.

The process of producing biodegradable cups is through a mechanical process called wet milling, first corn starch must be converted into sugar.

The moisturiser separates the starch from the kernels. When these components are separated, acid or enzymes are added. They are then heated to turn the starch into sugar. Next, it is fermented with sugar.

The addition of Lactobacillus bacteria to the sugar is one of the most common fermentation methods. In turn, this produces lactic acid. The lactic acid is then converted into lactide, a lactic acid ring shape dimer. These lactide molecules connect to form polymers.

The polymerization results in small pieces of polylactic acid plastic raw material that can be converted to a range of PLA plastic products.

Reasons to use compostable coffee cups

Bio cups, unlike Styrofoam or plastics, can be recycled or composted. This helps to ensure that paper cups are recycled into other useful materials. As a result, fewer coffee cups end up in landfills and oceans. This encourages waste reduction.

Here are a few reasons why you should use compostable cups:

Protect marine life

Ensuring the safety of water bodies

Sustainable for future generations

Reduced waste

Healthy and safe for human consumption

The preservation of fossil fuels

Preserving forests and preventing soil erosion