What is the most sustainable coffee packaging? We switched our coffee bags from a paper-plastic composite to mono-plastic. Apparently these are considered more sustainable. But how sustainable are they really? We compared them.
First and foremost: we're still a long way away from truly sustainable packaging. We found that with the new packaging, not much has changed, at least as far as our CO2 footprint is concerned.
After our packaging ran out, we faced the question: can we improve in this area? After conversations with suppliers and online research, we decided on a mono-plastic packaging as a more sustainable solution.
In the meantime, we continued searching and strengthened our efforts in the area of sustainability. Through our internal CO2 measurement, the packaging topic came back into focus, as it is responsible for roughly 55% of the roastery's emissions (The measurement already refers to the new packaging). That still corresponds to approximately 4% of the emissions across the entire chain. (Reference to an average of conventional coffees from Brazil between 2001-2014. Source: ecoinvent)
What is plastic?
Plastics are made from crude oil (partly also from natural gas).
Through the distillation of crude oil, raw gasoline (also called naphtha) is produced. This is converted through cracking into ethene, propene and butene. From which various plastics can be manufactured. (There are different processes in all steps, but we don't want to get bogged down in the details here.)
Mono-plastics for coffee packaging are typically plastics based on polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP). They are considered sustainable because, unlike all composite materials (paper/plastic, plastic/plastic, aluminum/paper, etc.), they have a major advantage: they are recyclable.
This means composite packaging ends up in waste incineration, mono-plastic packaging, maybe not. Perhaps the argument for sustainable packaging is mainly based on this. Hence the big question: how many of our packages are actually recycled and how?
CO2 Footprint: New vs. Old Packaging
More on CO2 and climate change can be found here. For context: CO2e stands for CO2 equivalents and converts the impact of all greenhouse gases into CO2.
This figure makes it easier for us to compare footprints. However, it also carries the risk of focusing too much on it, keyword: carbon tunnel (More on that another time.)
CO2 Footprint of Individual Materials
First, we look at the emissions of individual materials. To be meaningful here, it would be incorrect to consider only the manufacture of individual materials; instead, every processing step, as well as disposal, must be taken into account.
For this reason, we rely on ecoinvent, a life cycle assessment database with which processes and procedures can be created using LCAs (Life Cycle Assessments), and a study on "Climate Benefits of Material Recycling*)
| Material | Production Emissions |
Recycling Emissions |
Disposal/Incineration Emissions |
| LDPE |
2.14 |
0.7 |
2.7** |
| LLDPE |
1.91 |
0.7 |
2.7** |
| PP |
1.9 |
0.7 |
2.7** |
| PET | 2.83 | 0.7 | 2.7** |
| Glass* |
0.9 |
0.5 |
|
| Aluminum* |
11 |
0.4 |
0.2 |
| Paper & Cardboard* |
1.1 |
0.7 |
0.2 |
This means that for 1 kg of our mono-LDPE packaging (which corresponds to about 70 250g packages), 2.14 kg CO2e/kg is generated in the manufacture of the raw material.
For further processing, we were unable to find precise data, so we drew on a dataset in ecoinvent for the production of packaging film. The further processing here accounts for 0.82 kg CO2e/kg.
We do not include another life cycle and the resulting emissions. What we found is that sorting, washing and melting generate an additional 0.7 kg CO2e per kg. (Source: ecoinvent) This is followed by further processing.
What is Recycling?
Recycling reuses waste and returns it to the economic cycle. In Germany, recyclable materials are collected in yellow bags and then further processed. This means they are sorted, cleaned (for example, the label is removed) and then melted down so they can be reused. A distinction is made here:
- Reuse: Reusable bottles can be filled up to 50 times
- Material recycling: PET bottles can be melted down and then made into new PET bottles
- Energy recovery: Waste incineration. Not counted in the recycling rate
The sale of recyclable material abroad is counted in the rate.
Differences in Recycling Between Switzerland and Germany
In Germany, packaging waste is separated through the so-called dual system and collected nationwide ("Yellow Bag"). As a company, we are obligated to finance this system through contributions as a distributor of packaging.
In Switzerland, work is being done on a nationwide collection and recycling system «Collection 2025». Currently, there is still no uniform system here.
Note 1: In general, the incentive for plastic recycling is low because it incurs higher costs and expenses than producing new material.
Note 2: The recycling code is used for identification and is intended to help consumers with sorting.
Detailed information about recycling can be found here.
Is Mono-Plastic Better Than PET?
Does mono-plastic have a recycling rate like PET bottles (92% ***) or does the German dual system rate (63% ****) apply, or the German plastic packaging recycling rate of 2020 (46.2% *****) or the worldwide rate from the OECD report (9% ******)?
What is the CO2 Footprint of the New Packaging Depending on the Recycling Rate?
We now calculate the footprint depending on different recycling rates by proportionally excluding disposal for further processing from the calculation.
| Recycling Rate | Emissions per kg |
Emissions per Package |
| 100.00% |
2.96 |
0.042 |
| 93.00% |
3.15 |
0.045 |
| 63.00% |
3.96 |
0.057 |
| 46.20% |
4.41 |
0.063 |
| 9.00% |
5.42 |
0.077 |
What do these numbers tell us? On their own, they only tell us that a high recycling rate is better than a low one. So far so good.
Intermediate result: Our bag has a footprint of 0.063 kg CO2e per bag at the current recycling rate in Germany
What is the Footprint of the Old Bag?
Our old packaging consisted of:
| Material | Weight in g/m² | |
|
Paper |
40 |
27.97 % |
| PET |
16.8 |
11.75 % |
| PE |
76.8 |
53.71 % |
| Valve | 0.67 |
0.47 % |
| Adhesive and Paint | 8.42 |
5.89 % |
| Zipper |
0.31 |
0.22 % |
| Total |
143 |
This results in 4.49 kg CO2e/kg, which corresponds to 0.064 kg CO2e per 250g package
You can see that the paper content has a positive effect on the footprint, as it produces a much lower footprint both in production and in incineration.
The more plastic in the packaging, the higher the emissions.
Are Our New Bags More Sustainable Than the Old Ones?
With the paper content of the old packaging at 28% and Germany's current recycling rate, we improved by 54g CO2e per kg of packaging. That corresponds to approximately 0.77g CO2e per 250g package.
| Germany's Recycling Rate 2020 | Emissions Old Packaging |
Emissions New Packaging |
| 46.20% |
64.257 |
63.481 |
However, transport was not considered in this analysis, and the processing into mono-LDPE film appears to be more energy-efficient compared to the production of the stand-up pouch with zipper and valve.
What is the Most Sustainable Coffee Packaging?
We still haven't been able to answer the following questions. New ones come up daily. We're working on gathering information and will continuously update this blog. If you also have questions about sustainable coffee packaging, information, tips and addresses, please share them in the comments.
- What are realistic values for recycling coffee packaging?
- How does transport affect the footprint?
- What do the actual emissions in packaging production look like?
- How many times can our packaging be recycled?
- What are the emissions for one round of recycling?
- What are the life cycles of recycled materials and their footprints?
Furthermore, we have not considered what other impacts plastic has (environmental pollution, water consumption, land-use change, etc.) and that even if it doesn't end up in incineration, its negative effects on the environment are enormous. Here, the worldwide recycling rate from the OECD is alarming and becomes even more alarming when you consider worldwide plastic production of 367 million tons *******.
Our goal must therefore be to avoid plastic wherever possible and, whenever possible, to sort waste to achieve high recycling rates.
We recently started using the new packaging and will be searching for better alternatives suitable for our coffee while these packages are still in circulation. Compostable PLA? BIO-PE, single-use or reusable glass, paper?
Sources
* Hillman, "Climate Benefits of Material Recycling", 2015, Status: 11/18/22
** DIW, "On the Path to Climate Neutrality: Plastic Recycling Must Become a Greater Focus", 06/30/21, Status: 11/18/22
*** BVSE, "PET BEVERAGE BOTTLES: HIGH RECYCLING RATE AND INCREASING USE OF RECYCLED MATERIAL", Nov. 20, Status: 11/18/22
**** Nörr, "Has the Dual System Failed with Plastic Recycling?", 02/14/2022, Status: 11/18/22
***** Burger, "Generation and Disposal of Packaging Waste in Germany in 2020", Sept. 2022, Status: 11/18/22
****** Zeit, Only Nine Percent of Global Plastic Use is Recycled, 02/22/2022, Status: 11/18/22
******* Statista: "Global and European Plastic Production in the Years from 1950 to 2020", 2022, Status: 11/18/22
