At Fenigo Inc. every day starts with a perfectly brewed cup of coffee. You can call us coffee connoisseurs…but we’re even bigger lovers of coffee shops. 

As a company whose mission is to inspire people to live a zero-waste lifestyle, we make sure to dive deep into lifestyle choices that lead to large amounts of waste. This is why we’re growingly concerned about the massive amounts of waste that end up in landfills due to coffee shops. From packaging and cardboard waste to coffee grounds and disposable cups, it’s estimated that 23 million tons of waste are produced from coffee production per year. This includes an annual 250 billion cups that are thrown away globally, most often after a single use. Most people are vaguely aware of this growing concern, but statistics bring to life a vivid depiction of how severe the issue really is. 

We love coffee shops, but we don’t love the waste that comes along with them. So what’s the solution? Can coffee shops truly be zero-waste? 

Theoretically, zero-waste means that the company should produce no waste whatsoever. While this might not be entirely feasible and realistic, coffee shops that care about waste reduction are focusing on reducing and minimizing waste wherever possible. The Zero Waste International Alliance states that zero waste practices involve reusing, recovering or recycling products, materials and packaging “without burning them and without discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.” This is a big goal for coffee shops to accomplish; it requires a deep and intentional reflection on how to incorporate more sustainability into business operations. 

However, consumers at coffee shops play a big role in this zero waste mission as well. 

To produce paper cups alone, the earth takes on a strenuous amount of exertion. To produce 58 billion cups, an estimated 20 million trees and 12 billion gallons of water are wasted each year. Intertek, a testing service company, found that “the carbon footprint of producing, using, and disposing of just one single-use cup is the equivalent of more than 60g of carbon dioxide.” We cause so much damage just to use a cup once and then throw it away to contribute to growing landfills around the world, where it can take up to 30 years to decompose due “the low levels of oxygen, heat, and airflow in landfill conditions.”

We interviewed George, founder and owner of Kickturn Coffee Roasters in BC, Canada - a coffee shop that no longer distributes single use cups. Kickturn Coffee Roasters functions on a BYOC (Bring Your Own Cup) model, or welcomes customers to sit down and have their coffee in a mug. 

Our conversation with George brought to light a common misconception - that compostable cups are a sustainable alternative to single use plastics. The reality is that they require specific disposal processes in order to be authentically sustainable. While compostable takeout cups do degrade faster over time, the PLA lining that they have remains as plastic and needs high temperatures to eat it away, meaning that it doesn’t fully break down unless it's taken to an industrial disposal facility. Making these cups actually break down “requires a specific set of microorganisms used in industrial composting that need temperatures well above what most backyard heaps reach to thrive.”

Marion, the General Manager of Responsible Cafés in Australia, mentions that “Many packaging suppliers label their products as compostable without explaining that they require specialised facilities to dispose of them…Some coffee shop owners use compostable cups, but they’re not aware that they are industrial compostable-certified, [which means they need to be sent to a composting plant].”

We also spoke with Denis, the founder and owner of No6 Coffee Co. in Nelson, British Columbia, who opened his coffee shop without ever intending to offer disposable cups. He mentioned that even baristas dislike making coffee in paper cups because they know that the coffee will be gone in 20 minutes, but the cup will lay in a landfill for years to come. 

While governments around the world debate on the ban of single use plastics, we shouldn’t wait on rules and regulations to be imposed upon us. It all boils down to one thing: setting the intention to be more conscious about your lifestyle choices and understanding how they impact the planet. One small yet meaningful choice every day can make a world of a difference. Whether it be sitting down at a coffee shop instead of opting for a takeaway cup, or bringing your own reusable mug, we all have the power to contribute to a sustainable future!