We’ve seen it all: compostable, bio-degradable, eco-friendly, plant-based... single-use takeaway containers are big issue around the world and in Aotearoa, so it’s no surprise that businesses have come up with ideas to try to reduce the impact of their coffee cups in the environment. Their intention is likely to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and bring awareness to consumers about reducing plastics and other harmful materials. For us, as consumers, it may be nice to think that we are being “greener” by opting for these friendlier single-use options.

However, a takeaway culture that is justified by products being “green” isn’t really working. The main problem around these “green” type of single-use containers is that most of them are still ending up in landfill.

A quick fact: The Alert Level 4 Lockdown is estimated to have saved more than 20 million coffee cups going to landfill, according to figures from The Packaging Forum.

One of the reasons behind this is the confusion regarding the terminology itself (compostable, biodegradable, oxo-degradable, degradable…), meaning retailers and consumers are sometimes misled by unsubstantiated “green” marketing claims. So here’s our attempt to provide some light into the different types of materials for takeaway containers and cups.

The image below from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment shows some of the main features we need to consider when deciding on how “green” our packaging is.

Recyclable:

Containers can be recycled only if the material is clean and not contaminated with leftover drink, food, grease, or oils, and if it is properly disposed of in the yellow recycling bins. If the container is made out of plastic, it needs to have numbers 1, 2 or 5. If a recyclable container ends up in a landfill bin, it won’t be recycled.

Coffee cups are made from mixed materials that can’t be separated during the recycling process, so they go into our red landfill bin. Please, to avoid contaminating the rest of the materials in your yellow recycling bin, don’t try to recycle your coffee cups.

Compostable:

A compostable container or cup is made out of organic material that can naturally biodegrade. It’s important to check if the cup can be composted at home (plant-based) or if it needs to be taken to an approved commercial facility to do so. Commercially compostable cups need specific heat and air movement to break the products down into compost, which is not possible to do at your home composting bin (or it will take a looong time).

Composting is a great way to divert waste from landfill, but the ability to deal with compostable plastics depends on the availability of facilities to process this waste. If you do end up with a compostable cup, make sure to ask the cafe if they have a special bin to collect and send them to a commercial composting facility (there are 11 of these in NZ). Otherwise, the cup will end up in landfill, where they don’t get the heat and air needed to break down properly.

Degradable:

Almost everything degrades or breaks down into smaller parts. The thing is, some materials need more time than others. A banana peel can degrade in 5 days, while plastic bottle products can take as much as 100 years or longer to decompose, especially in an environment such as landfill, where sunlight, air and moisture (three key parts of facilitating biodegradation) are scarce. “Degradable” is such a broad term, it doesn’t really tell us much!

Biodegradable:

Containers can breakdown (degrade) into smaller units by undertaking specific biological processes. “Bio” means that living organisms will increase the degradation of a material.

Biodegradable materials are not always compostable, as some biodegradable plastics are still petroleum-based plastics and take hundreds of years to degrade. Making petroleum-based plastics biodegradable does not make them an environmentally friendly option, it simply speeds up the decay and the plastic molecules just become smaller (and more dangerous) sooner than later. Moreover, it is important to know under which conditions the material degrades and how long it takes to do so, as some may need specific processes or hundreds of years for it!

Oxo-degradable:

These are a bit more uncommon. Containers that are oxo-degradable are products made from traditional oil-based plastics with an additive that makes them fragment into smaller pieces faster than traditional plastic when exposed to sunlight and oxygen. Similar as above, the smaller particles may cause more problems in the long term, so it’s best to avoid them altogether.

Bio-plastics or PLA (Polylactic acid):

This is a plant-based product, usually made out of corn starch or sugar cane. It is not petroleum-based and can be biodegradable or compostable. Created with renewable resources, bio-plastics reduce the demand for fossil fuel-based plastic, but it is still plastic. It won’t break down in normal natural conditions, like in the ocean. It can only break down in special facilities and is not recyclable.

If any of the containers mentioned here end up in a landfill bin (or a bin that is not marked at all) as about 295 million cups do each year, they won’t be recycled, composted or degraded. Keep this in mind so that we don’t end up creating a negative impact from a good intention.

It’s important to consider, however, that sending your compostable or biodegradable containers into landfill is even worse than your normal plastic containers. As they are made out of organic matter that will decompose in landfill, compostable containers will emit methane and CO2 in ways that are way more harmful to the environment.

Compostable or biodegrable products are a starting point but they cannot be the solution. They still encourage single-use waste and involve a complex process of producing, transporting and disposing.

So, what can you do?

Bring your own cup! All cafés are able to accept clean cups under the Food Act and more than 35 local cafés offer a discount when you bring your own. Keep an eye out for the posters coming from mid-March!
Encourage your local café to promote reusable cups. Some ideas can be to have a mug library or to join a successful cup lending scheme. NPDC is currently funding local cafés to join Again Again until 31 March 2021, so you can also encourage them to get on board.
Avoid takeaways altogether. Make time to have a seat, enjoy the view or have a nice chat.
Start the conversation. Bring attention to your friends and colleagues about the differences in takeaway materials, and think of ways to reduce your waste and not impact the environment.
Learn and get involved. There are lots of things happening across Aotearoa that look at reducing single-use takeaway containers. You’ve probably heard of Takeaway Throwaways, UYO, Incafe’s 4evercup, Again Again or similar initiatives. Read a bit more about WHY it’s important to reuse here.
Ask your local café about their plan for disposing of the commercially compostable cups they hand out. Do they have a commercial compost collection?
Dispose of cups properly. If it’s a compostable cup and there’s no commercially composting bin around, make sure you don’t contaminate the recycling bins. Single-use coffee cups are not recyclable. That’s it. Put them in the landfill bin instead.

Want to share your experiences or ask questions from the Taranaki community? Join our Sustainable Taranaki Community Facebook Group. We’d love to hear from you and learn more about your low-waste journey.

Takeaway containers, explained