Are compostable coffee cups compostable?
The proposed 25p latte levy appears to have focused minds.
In the UK we are throwing away 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every single year. These cups cannot be recycled due to a plastic liner in what at first glance appears to be a simple paper cup.
An environmental disaster, deadly for for marine life.
Something has to be done. Hence the proposed latte levy.
Indie coffee shops as always are taking the lead, are starting to offer on sale compostable paper cups, reusable KeepCups, discounts if bring back cups for a refill.
If I am on my way home, have picked up fruit and vegetables, I can pop my compostable cup in with my fruit and vegetables, then when home, deposit my compostable coffee cup on the compost heap.
But what if not on my way home, what if not a convenient compost heap, what then with my compostable coffee cup? And therein lies the dilemma, what to do with the compostable coffee cup? It will find its way into the general waste stream.
The underlying assumption, is that my compostable cup will do what it says, actually compost.
Only one way to find out, drop a couple of cups on the compost heap, sit back and wait. That was a few weeks ago. Nothing has happened. They are siting there. Though to be fair, it is winter.
If I am at Infinity Foods in Brighton or at the farmers market in Guildford, I will often pick up a biodegradable plastic bag, these are made of plant-based cellulose.
I will fill with kitchen waste, throw on the compost heap, or at least I used to.
What I found was, everything rotted down, the bag still there, even after several cycles through the compost heap.
For comparison, yogurt pots, those made of waxed paper, do rot down, leaving behind the plastic liner.
The plastic bag is very thin compared with the compostable paper coffee cup.
We need more people to do as I have done, deposit these compostable paper cups on their compost heaps and monitor what happens.
KeepCup and clones thereof are refillable, but from observation the take up and usage is low. Easy to see why, expensive, bulky, often heavy, a pain to carry around.
This may though change, with 25p latte levy helping to focus minds and indie coffee shops reporting an increase in interest.
In Australia, or least Melbourne, Abigail Forsyth co-founder of KeepCup reports reuse rate has risen from 1% to 30%. Still low, but 30% a lot better than 1%.
The demographics to aim KeepCup at office workers popping out for a coffee, coupled with substantial discount when used.
Compostable coffee cups, KeepCup, are addressing the symptoms, not the underlying problem of grab it and go consumerist culture, typified by the chains serving disgusting undrinkable coffee.
Do we not value good coffee? Why do we not grant coffee the respect it deserves?
We wax lyrically about the terroir. We would not dream of swigging a good wine out of a plastic-lined coffee cup. Why therefore do we not treat a good coffee with the same respect?
We have to encourage relax in an indie coffee shop with speciality coffee served from glass or ceramic, the only way to appreciate a good coffee.
We need dialogue between baristas and clientele, as to what we must do to get rid of disposable coffee cups.
