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5 Biocup Myths Busted!

Guest post by Biopak.

Ever wondered if recycling cups is better than composting? There’s a lot of confusion surrounding compostable coffee cups and Biopak are here to set the record straight by debunking 5 of the more common myths around bioplastics.

Myth #1: PLA Bioplastic is a polymer and no better than regular plastic  

TRUTH:

BioCups are made with a bioplastic sourced from rapidly-renewable plant resources, like corn – not finite fossil fuels. Ingeo™ PLA (polylactic acid) requires 52% less energy to produce and has a carbon footprint 71.8% lower compared to regular plastic. It is designed for the circular economy to biodegrade into
nutrient rich compost in an industrial compost facility.

Myth #2: No industrial compost facilities accept Biocups

TRUTH:

30+ commercial compost facilities in Australia and New Zealand compost BioCups. This number is growing every week. Our BioPak Compost Service can collect compostable packaging and food waste from 2,200+ suburbs in every state (including Victoria). Our customers have diverted 700 tonnes of waste from landfill in one year.

Myth #3: Biocups can’t be recycled in residential recycling

TRUTH:

Neither PE or PLA lined cups can be recycled in residential paper/plastic recycling streams. However, BioCups can be composted in residential green bin collections along with coffee residue, other compostable packaging and food scraps in a growing number of locations, such as South Australia. In addition, businesses can use the BioPak Compost Service operating in 13 major cities across Australia and New Zealand.

Myth #4: Biocups don’t break down into quality compost

TRUTH:

BioCups are independently certified to AS4736 and when disposed of in an industrial compost facility they will completely biodegrade into a non-toxic, high-quality compost without leaving behind any mircoplastics. Through our Compost Service, our customers have created 50,000 x 10kg bags of compost– returning nutrients to the soil in a proven closed loop solution.

Myth #5: Biocups compost in landfill

TRUTH:

Ideally, no cups, foodservice packaging or food should go into landfill. The conditions in landfill are such
that the process of biodegradation of organics (cup paper) will emit harmful methane gas – not nutrient-rich compost. However, if BioCups and regular coffee cups (PE cups) do end up there, BioCups have contributed less greenhouse gases and used less non-renewable energy when they were made, something regular cups cannot achieve. 

This was a guest post by our wonderful supplier Biopak.

REFERENCES

Myth 1

  • https://www.natureworksllc.com/What-is-Ingeo/Why-it-Matters/Life-Cycle-Analysis
  • https://www.total-corbion.com/about-pla/sustainability/

Myth 2

  • https://www.aora.org.au/aora-national-policies

Myth 3

  • https://recyclingnearyou.com.au/coffee-cups/
  • https://www.biofutura.com/en/blog/recycling-biobased-paper-cups/ 
  • https://www.biopak.com.au/blog/composting-and-recycling/media-release-new-research-confirms-biopak-coffee-cups-are-recyclable

Myth 4

  • https://www.dincertco.de/en/dincertco/produkte_leistungen/zertifizierung_produkte/umwelt_1/industriell_kompostierbare_produkte/industriell_kompostierbare_produkte.html
  • https://www.bioplastics.org.au/resources/faq/#toggle-id-9
  • https://www.bioplastics.org.au/certification/the-seedling-logo/licence/

Myth 5

  • https://www.natureworksllc.com/What-is-Ingeo/Where-it-Goes/Landfill
  • https://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/waste-management/