EU encouraged to make compostable coffee capsules mandatory

European Bioplastics (EUBP) has declared its support for making single-serve coffee units mandatorily compostable. It has called on the EU Parliament and Council to uphold this.

Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of EUBP, said that despite only a limited number of applications to make coffee units compostable, the EUBP supports the Commission’s inclusion of coffee capsules in the list of products that must be made compostable for EU markets in the future.

By weight, coffee makes up approximately 80% of a coffee capsule. As this is the main component of the capsule, the greatest value retention will come from capturing the coffee via organic recycling. For instance, coffee grounds could be used in compost, which will have several benefits when used as a soil amendment such as an improved C:N ratio. In any other end-of-life option, the valuable organic material is simply lost.

The Commission’s Impact Assessment concluded that compostable coffee capsules are a preferred option from a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) point of view. EUBP has reiterated the findings, which indicate that compostable coffee capsules increase the capture of biowaste, reduce the contamination of compost with non-compostable plastics and do not increase the contamination of waste streams.

In compliance with EN 13432, making all single-serve units compostable in industrial composting facilities will ensure that the disposal of them is consistent among consumers. It will also ensure that the single-use items entering organic recycling facilities are safe and free of microplastics.

From the beginning of 2024 in the EU, the separate collection of biowaste from households will be mandatory, making it easier to collect the certified compostable coffee capsules by eliminating the need for a separate infrastructure build-up for collection, sorting and recycling. In countries that do not have such recycling schemes, investments are needed to encourage sorting and efficient recycling.

“We, therefore, strongly believe that organic recycling is the most environmentally sound end-of-life option for single-serve coffee units and call on the European Parliament and Council to keep coffee capsules on the positive list for mandatorily compostable packaging applications as set out in Art. 8 of the Commission’s proposal for a revised PPWR,” Von Pogrell said.

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