Life Cycle Assessment of Compostable Coffee Pods: A US University Based Case Study.
Life Cycle Assessment of Compostable Coffee Pods: A US University Based Case Study.
复制标题
可堆肥咖啡包的生命周期评估：基于美国大学的案例研究。
DOI：
10.1038/s41598-020-65058-1
复制
发表时间：
2020
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
Ozcan,Soydan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kooduvalli,Komal;Vaidya,UdayKumar;Ozcan,Soydan
Single-serve machines have proven to be a rapid and convenient mechanism for preparing coffee for consumption. However, disposing the single-use coffee pods accompanying each use creates insurmountable waste in landfills. With the introduction of biobased products being certified as industrially compostable, there is scope for an effective waste stream for nearly all biobased products that avoids adding to landfills. The case presented in this paper demonstrates the success of composting compostable coffee pods within a local industrial-scale composting facility. Utilizing the existing local composting facility at the University of Tennessee–Knoxville, a life cycle assessment was performed to calculate the overall embodied energy and related environmental impact(s) to determine the feasibility of using compostable coffee pods over conventional plastic ones. Testing showed complete degradation within 46 days, proving composting to be a feasible waste stream option and a sustainable marketing edge while treading the path toward a circular economy. Cost savings of 21% were realized in terms of waste disposal, in addition to creating a value-added product at the end of the coffee pods life cycle, with nutrient-rich compost being recirculated to campus gardens and farms.
