Are you a coffee person? While sipping our morning coffee, have you ever thought about whether this calming ritual adds a burden to our precious planet? According to Insider.com, nine things we do daily are hurting our environment, one of which is drinking coffee.
Health-wise, drinking coffee in moderation has a lot of benefits. However, all the byproducts of coffee cultivation, processing and consumption have led to deforestation, soil erosion, and water and plastic pollution. As consumers, there might not be much we can do about coffee production, but we can certainly look into our coffee consumption habits and see how we can go greener and reduce the consequences of climate change. Remember, no matter how small steps are, we can all do something good for the Earth.
When buying a bag of coffee
I used to buy coffee bags purely based on their price. But, in recent years, I learned about fairtrade coffee and decided to do my bit to support this positive social movement. That should be good enough, right? Not really! It would be even better if our coffee bags came with the logo of ‘Certified B Corporation’ (aka B Corp).
A certified B corporation proves that its entire operation is committed to sustainability and social impact, from how the company sources materials to whether they’re putting environmental good before profit. On the other hand, fairtrade focuses more on the workers behind the products to give them fair wages and working conditions. So, by purchasing coffee bags with both logos on, we’re voting with our dollars to bring a better world.
Should the coffee package be a factor influencing our buying decision? Probably not at the moment. Whether the coffee bag is a flat-bottom, vacuum-sealed, or ‘biodegradable’ bag, they don’t make much difference in recycling. None of them can be recycled in our home recycling bins.
When making a cup of coffee
Coffee can be brewed in several ways, such as French press, pour-over coffee maker and stovetop espresso maker, aka Moka pot etc. I used to make coffee with a Tassimo machine. But then I learned that single-serve coffee pods aren’t eco-friendly, and I stopped using the machine entirely.
According to the Independent, coffee capsules are among the worst domestic waste; each month, almost 30,000 of them go to landfills. Their packaging waste is another concern, too. Moreover, the production of aluminium capsules is toxic to the environment and tons of waste are also generated during the production. Although some of the materials used in the pods, such as aluminium and plastic parts, can be recycled. But it’s very time-consuming to take them apart and recycle them separately. And that’s why most of them end up in the dumping ground.
In the last few years, more coffee pod manufacturers acknowledged the importance of addressing environmental issues. For example, Nespresso claimed their pods are fully recyclable and provided four ways for their customers to send back their single-used capsules. However, the data from 2021 shows that the recycling rate for Nespresso pods is only 30%, which means there is STILL a lot of them that end up in the dump.
How about those coffee pods labelled as ‘compostable’ or ‘biodegradable’? Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean you can compost them in your home compost bin. Strictly speaking, those types of pods can only be adequately decomposed by industrial composting facilities, and not every city or town accommodates a facility like that, even in developed countries.
So, to me, much more eco-friendly ways of making coffee are traditional ways, such as using the pour-over coffee maker or French press. See the picture above. With those two tools, I can just use ground coffee from the coffee bag and pour hot water over the coffee. There’s no additional waste created except for the used coffee grounds, which I always compost in my garden compost bin.
Taste-wise, I prefer the coffee flavour from the pour-over coffee maker because the coffee has a more mellow aftertaste, not as bitter as the ones brewed in the French press. Moreover, a pour-over coffee pot requires much less water when cleaning than a French press. The French press plunger and metal mesh/filter need a good amount of water to clean them thoroughly.
When getting a coffee takeaway
I can count the number of times I get a coffee takeaway a year on the fingers of one hand. Whenever I travel somewhere, I bring my homemade coffee in a flask. It saves money and is more environmentally friendly, i.e. I don’t need to consume coffee from a single-use paper cup.
The carbon emission from disposable paper cups is concerning. Statistics show that the US throws away 50 billion coffee cups annually. The UK isn’t doing any better on this either: every year, 2.5 billion coffee cups end in the tip. Those coffee cups are coated with plastic to laminate the inside. When pouring hot water into a paper cup, it could release microplastics into the drink. Even worse, those paper cups can’t be recycled at home; they can only be recycled at the ‘designated’ coffee cup recycling bin.
So, if you need to have your cup of coffee on the go, a more eco-conscious solution is to bring your own flask or travel mug, which is better for your health, too. Most UK coffee chains accept reusable cups from their customers, including Costa, Starbucks and Pret a Manger. Costa even went a step further. They let their customers borrow reusable cups from their participating stores, and the customers can return the cups later, at a time that suits them.
Final thoughts
From buying more ethical coffee bags to how we consume coffee at home or in the coffee shop, we all need to be more eco-friendly. Even though some coffee materials and packaging are recyclable, a more sustainable way of living for us is not to generate unnecessary waste in the first place. We must consider every aspect of our living, from buying and eating to consuming, to reduce our environmental impact. Every decision and action of ours will ultimately influence whether we can build a greener future.
What do you usually look for in a bag of coffee? How do you brew coffee at home? What other hot drinks do you typically have if you don’t drink coffee? And what can you do to make your hot drink more eco-friendly? I’d like to hear from you. Leave your comments below.
