Recently, I received a message from a coffee company on LinkedIn that sells coffee pods made of natural fibers and that was interested in addressing consumer confusion around “sustainable” coffee pods. They reached out to me to write a white paper detailing the environmental impacts of several different “sustainable” alternatives (i.e. bioplastic, aluminum, recyclable plastic pods) in order to educate consumers on how to make better choices in alignment with their environmental values. As I began delving into the research for this project, especially on the topic of bioplastics, I was reminded of several topics discussed in this course, and how they might explain the failure of bioplastics as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastic.
One class concept that immediately came to mind was the idea of wicked problems. Early on in my research, I came to the conclusion that plastic waste is a wicked problem, and because of that, solutions to plastic waste are very context-dependent (i.e. there are no true/false solutions, only good/bad solutions). For example, bioplastics—or plastic-like materials derived from plant-based sources such as corn starch—are not home compostable. They require an industrial composting facility which can maintain temperatures high enough for bacteria to break down the material, and to comply with regulatory standards ASTM D5338 and EN13432 (certification schemes for industrially-compostable plastics testing for adequate disintegration, biodegradation and no adverse effects on compost). So for individuals or communities without access to an industrial composting facility, this solution is non-sensical--especially given the fact that biological materials produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas, when they are left to dispose in a landfill environment.
Another class concept that became very important to this bioplastic discussion was the importance of stakeholder engagement, which we discussed extensively during our module on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The stakeholders who have routinely been excluded from advancements in compostable bioplastics have been the industrial composting facilities themselves! For instance, I read an article on 9 reasons why composting facilties in Oregon are rejecting compostable packaging and serviceware delivered to their facilities. Some of these reasons include the fact that they may often be confused with traditional plastics, they decrease the resale value of the compost and increase maintenance costs. Had these groups been more thoroughly consulted when bioplastics were being implemented in these regions or during the design phase, there may have been a more environmentally-sound outcome of this innovation.
Ultimately, this personal investigation on bioplastic coffee pods spurred by a whimsical message on LinkedIn really enhanced my understanding of the complexities that are associated with creating solutions to environmental issues. Although wicked problems like plastic waste are inherently challenging to address, strategies like stakeholder engagement can be crucial to ensure that the people affected by such initiatives are supportive of the cause.
