How many times do you pick up a cup of coffee on the run each week? Do you always use a disposable cup? What method do you use if you brew your own coffee? These are just a few of the questions you need to address to evaluate the environmental impact of coffee.
The environmental impact of the coffee industry is less than positive. As you can imagine, it’s difficult to influence how an entire industry behaves and operates. However, you can limit the environmental impact of your coffee habit by making a series of small changes at the consumer level. Read on to find out whether your coffee habit is eco-friendly and how you can go about reducing your impact.
An Environmental Crisis
There’s no getting around it. We are currently facing a series of environmental issues – global warming, reduced biodiversity, and climate change. It pains me to admit this, but the coffee industry is a contributing factor. The environmental impact of coffee farming varies depending on the exact practices. However, the shift from shade-grown coffee to more aggressive methods means that the coffee industry’s environmental footprint is larger than it has ever been.
Furthermore, coffee producers will face new challenges if we do not step up and work to counter climate instability. As global temperatures increase, the amount of arable land will decrease and pests and diseases will likely thrive in larger areas. If that isn’t enough, sporadic weather patterns will impact coffee growth cycles and create real issues for overall coffee quality.
It would be unreasonable to believe that a single post could influence the entire supply chain of the coffee industry. So instead, we’re going to discuss how individuals can help reduce the energy used, waste produced, and the industry’s overall footprint.
How to Reduce Energy Usage
How do you make your coffee at home or at the office? For most, a standard auto-drip coffeemaker does the trick. However, these electric coffeemakers consume a lot of electricity.
If you genuinely want to reduce the carbon footprint of your morning coffee, you need to change your brewing method. A French press, the trendy AeroPress, or a pour-over method all consume far less energy than a standard auto-drip coffeemaker. If you enjoy a nice cup of Espresso, then you should try out a lever-driven manual machine instead of an automatic one.
Yes – each of the alternative methods mentioned above requires hot water. However, the amount of energy needed to brew once your water is hot is far less than an auto-drip coffeemaker.
If you’re really serious about saving energy, you can always consider cold brew. This option has a reputation for being sweet, mellow, and less acidic than its hot counterpart. However, this isn’t always the case. There are numerous cold brew techniques and each yield a unique flavor profile. The beans you use for your cold brew also play a factor in the final flavor of the final product.
How to Reduce Waste
Americans toss away more than 50 billion paper coffee cups every year. That’s enough to construct a 701m tall pyramid, which surpasses the Seattle Space Needle by 517m. The scary part is that this is just a portion of coffee’s overall negative environmental impact.
Disposable Cups
Why are disposable paper coffee cups such a big issue…can’t we just recycle them? Well, yes, we can technically recycle used paper coffee cups. However, it’s an expensive process and there aren’t enough facilities around the world equipped to do the job.
The root of the problem lies in the polyethylene liner, which waterproofs the cup, yet makes it difficult to recycle the paper portion of the cup. Since the polyethylene liner all but eliminated any chance of recycling the used paper cups, most of them end up in landfills or incinerators.
Given the inability to recycle the used paper cups, it’s better to reduce the amount you use and reuse products whenever possible. In doing so, we can avoid using resources to create the cups in the first place and then save even more since there’s nothing that we need to recycle.
Eco-Friendly Paper Cups
So, what can you do if you want a coffee on the go? You can start by looking for coffee shops that use eco-friendly cups such as those produced by Green Gate Bio. Their cups are not only recyclable but are also 100% biodegradable and compostable, which is a huge step in the right direction.
However, simply using cups made of better materials isn’t enough. You also need to ensure that you dispose of your cup properly because tossing your used cup in the wrong bin defeats the purpose.
Reusable Containers
The best option on the table is to use a reusable cup, whether that be a travel mug or a repurposed cup from home. There are hundreds of eco-friendly cups available on the market. However, you want to select one that is durable and can be recycled once it is no longer usable. Personally, I’m a big fan of the Yeti product lineup, specifically their 30oz tumblers.
There is one major caveat with reusable containers as with the eco-friendly paper cups – you need to use them! If a reusable container isn’t used enough to offset the materials used in its production, it isn’t an environmentally-friendly choice.
There are a handful of programs where you purchase a reusable cup from a participating café and then return/reuse it at any of the other participating cafés. One such program is the YORCUP program at the University of York. University coffee drinkers purchase a bright green sleeve and the rights to a reusable cup for £5 ($6.32).
After the students finish their drink, they return the YORCUP to any participating outlet. The next time they go to purchase a drink, they show their bright green sleeve, and their drink is served in a clean YORCUP. In addition to reducing the number of single-use cups that eventually wind up in landfills, the students dodge the 20-pence Latte Levy charge. The program launched in January 2019 and has since prevented 1,108,329 single-use cups from going to local landfills.
Single-Serve Capsules
Single-serve coffee capsules are both convenient and widespread these days. While convenient, single-serve capsules produce more waste than traditional brewing methods due to the packaging. The containers are typically made of plastic, aluminum, or a combination of the two. If you wish to recycle your single-serve capsules, you need to completely clean each capsule and take it to a recycling facility capable of recycling it. In reality, what are the odds that you’ll take the necessary steps to recycle your single-serve capsules?
If you refuse to give up your capsules, you should consider shifting to a more sustainable version. Gourmesso offers compostable pods, which are certified by the Rainforest Alliance and compatible with numerous single-serve machines. Cometeer offers specialty-grade frozen capsules, which produce less waste. Their groundbreaking design won Best New Product at the 2019 Specialty Coffee Expo.
Coffee Filters
An essential part of the pour-over method is the filter, which traps the grounds. However, filters are not exactly environmentally friendly.
Many people use paper filters on a daily basis and simply discard them once they’ve brewed their coffee. In addition to creating a massive amount of waste, many paper filters are bleached with Chlorine or Oxygen. While bleaching with Oxygen is more environmentally friendly than Chlorine, it’s still a chemical process that produces waste products. If you insist on continuing to use paper filters, you should consider using unbleached filters or switching to a reusable model.
If you decide to switch to a reusable model, there are a number of different styles: plastic, metal, and cloth. Plastic models are typically made from non-renewable resources and can take hundreds of years to break down. Furthermore, studies have shown that eco-friendly alternatives to petroleum-based plastics only break down in certain environmental conditions.
Seeing how reusable plastic filters aren’t exactly the best option, you should seriously consider a metal or cloth filter. You can also consider a pour-over device that is designed to trap solids without a filter, such as the ceramic models available from Loca and 224porcelain.
What About Your Used Coffee Grounds?
There are numerous ways you can repurpose your used coffee grounds. We explore a number of them here.
Which Coffee Should You Buy?
There are a number of sustainability certifications for the coffee industry, such as the Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade. Some certifications are more focused on environmental sustainability than others. Sadly, there’s no right answer as to which product is the best. You need to review the differences between each product and decide whether you support the product’s goals.
You can also connect with your local barista or local roaster and ask about the beans they sell and why they choose to buy from specific producers.
The coffee supply chain is complicated and it’s often difficult to trace back to the source of your beans or how they were farmed. However, if you put in the effort, you can usually identify the origin of your beans, which, in turn, helps you pick the best option for your personal preferences.
