Compostable cups are criminal.

It was almost ten years that I owned a pumping cafe in Manly with my dad.

I was 22 when I was thrown into the world of business. I was 22 and a boss. Lucky for me I worked with my dad and our world views are very similar. We tended to agree on most things.

Dad and I wanted to be environmentally friendly. When choosing our coffee supplier we were stoked that Allpress used PLA ‘compostable cups’. We felt a little chuffed and good about ourselves. Fast forward 9 years, we have now sold the cafe and have discovered that PLA cups are actually pretty bad. While they are compostable, they will take YEARS to breakdown in the environment. They actually need to be transported to a special facility that specialises in breaking down these products.

Out of the millions of people that buy take away coffee cups everyday, who on earth is going to be taking their cups to these special facility? Probably close to zero.

I spoke with Garth Lamb, Business Development Manager of major Recycling company- Regroup about these cups and he explained to me just how terrible they are. Most of them end up in landfill where they produce far more methane gases to breakdown due to the huge amount of time it takes to naturally decompose. He said it’d be better for people to buy recyclable cups as these can be instantly turned into new products such as construction hardboard.

Now there is a new PLASTIC FREE cup available. It has a water-based lining and can be recycled if you separate cup from lid. Cup goes to paper bin and Lid goes to plastic bin. Voila. Much easier than taking your cup to the specialised PLA recycling facility isn’t it? Just chuck it in the blue and yellow bin.

By using the plastic free cup, we are not reaping the environment for its resources. We are creating a closed loop product. From manufacturing to recycling, the product has a circular life cycle, which is optimal for the planet. They aren’t going to landfill and they are constantly being remade into new products.

So if you are a cafe, roaster or wholesaler and you are environmentally conscious, maybe think twice before you mindlessly opt for the PLA ‘compostable cups’. Marketing is powerful and it led many people to believe that compostable cups were good for the environment, however they didn’t relay the finer details, like the huge amount of time it takes to break down naturally and that they can only be composted at specific places.

Let’s talk about this!