WASTE MANAGEMENT as does the amount of packaging that can be recycled. The coffee sector is putting pressure on manufacturers to move to recyclable and compostable plastics, the British Coffee Association (BCA) having published a goal to push the industry to achieve zero-waste packaging by 2025.
REDUCE
RE-USE
RECYCLE New recycling schemes, materials and collection processes are helping the sector to make better use of its waste products. PLASTIC WASTE REDUCTION For some years now, there has been a steady drive for us all to consume less plastic. According to the British Coffee Association, the UK government estimates that the UK uses five million tonnes of plastic each year, nearly half of which is packaging. Although household waste recycling rates have risen in the UK from around 11% in 2000/2001 to about 45% in 2018, there is a long way to go. 18 CAFÉ LIFE | AUGUST 2021
Businesses that signed up to the UK Plastics Pact, led by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in conjunction with the government and various NGOs, have committed to eliminate “problematic” or singleuse plastics altogether. Progress is being made. In the year 2018/2019, Pact members reduced the number of items classed as problematic by 40%. The amount of recycled plastic used to create packaging continues to increase,
INTRODUCING COMPOSTABLE Recyclable plastic is one route for coffee brands to go down, though recycling takes significant resources to follow through. Another is compostable plastic. This is by nature “the cleanest type of packaging available”, says Simon Roberts, commercial director of Roberts Mart, a familyowned manufacturer of compostable packaging based in Leeds that has grown to a turnover of £40 million. “It’s from nature to nature, effectively,” says Simon Roberts. “As it is primarily derived from plant-based materials, through composting it can return to the earth in a closed-loop system.” Currently, compostable packaging accounts for only 0.5% of consumer plastic packaging in the UK, according to WRAP. The market is growing, Simon Roberts reports, Roberts Mart having achieved four major European compostable packaging launches, one of which is with Cafés Novell. However, producing the packaging required to ensure coffee has a long enough shelflife has taken much finessing, say the company. Victoria Garside, operations manager of Cafés Novell UK adds: “Our ‘No Waste’ range of compostable products, which includes both packets and capsules, offers a real alternative to the waste currently generated by aluminium coffee capsules and plastic barrier coffee packs. Cafés Novell has been pioneering the use of this packaging across Europe for some time and are now delivering it across the UK from our base in Yorkshire.” COMPOSTABLE CHALLENGES In general, the adoption of compostable plastics is being held back in the UK for two reasons, it is
