Coffee at Home: Are coffee pods problematic?

Since the popularisation of Nespresso coffee pods in 1988, coffee consumers have had the luxury and convenience to enjoy a cup of coffee almost instantly and comfortably in their homes. Despite the proliferation of coffee pods from alternative brands following the loss of Nespresso's coffee pod patent, Nespresso pods remain the go-to for coffee pod consumers. However, Nespresso pods are coming under scrutiny in the 21st century, as there has been a growing awareness that the excessive use of coffee pods are polluting the environment, with many of them ending up in landfills instead of proper recycling facilities (Grant, 2020). 

Figure 1: Nespresso pods end up in landfills as they are improperly disposed of. Image source: Huntsdale, 2019.

This is a shame as Moskvitch (2019), who corroborated the finding of different researches, found that coffee pods are made of materials that are highly recyclable. The Nespresso pod, for instance, is made primarily of aluminium, which is a metal that can be easily melted and reused repeated. The catch for Nespresso pods is that they contain a silicon layer, which requires specific technologies to remove before recycling can take place. As such, consumers using Nespresso pods are required to return the pods back to Nespresso's collection points, should they wish to recycle.

Expectedly, recycling rates are low. In 2018, in the UK alone, 42% of coffee pod users throw the pods away after use. This is in spite of Nespresso's efforts to expand its recycling efforts to reach 100% recycling rates by 2020 (the goal was not achieved), by increasing its global capsule recycling points (Grant, 2020). Evidently, besides making the recycling facilities convenient to consumers, awareness of such facilities must also be strengthened. Additionally, while Nespresso wishes to define their capsules through the silicon layer embedded in their capsules (Moskvitch, 2019), removing the silicon would make the capsules more recycle-friendly, as typical recycling plants will then have the capacity to recycle these pods.

In essence, to improve recycling rates and reduce pollution of Nespresso coffee pods, the mindsets of both consumers and the Nespresso company need to change. Consumers have to be more active in recycling, and Nespresso needs to forgo its ego so that its coffee pods can be easily recycled.

Coffee Farming: Pesticide

Persticides are often used in coffee plantations and unfortunately, the amount of beans produced is directly related to the amount of pesticide used when cultivating the coffee trees (Suoto et al., 2018). de Queiroz et al. (2018) also found that pesticide consumption increased by more than 90% on a global scale, of which is partly derived from coffee. Pesticide use can have detrimental effects on humans and the environment, which we will touch on today.

de Queiroz et al. had did a study on the sustainability of pesticide use in coffee production. Out of the 59 active ingredients that are detected in pesticides, the team found that about 37% of ingredients are toxic to humans and animals, and 47% to the environment. The most common ingredients belong to the organophosphorus class and the pyrethroid class. Poisoning from organophosphorus pesticides are said to cause respiratory failures, seizures, muscle weaknesses, and comas (Vale, 2015), and pyrethroid pesticides are said to cause sore throats, abdominal pain and nausea (Bradberry et al., 2005). Environmental impacts include the acidification of soils and increasing resistance to weed species (Mulla et al., 2019).

Alas, pesticide poisoning is typical in countries producing coffee. In Brazil, the world largest producer for instance, the Human Rights Watch (2019) reported that exposure to pesticides is reponsible for at least 100 deaths in a rural school within the state of Parana alone, causing one to wonder the extent of impact pesticides can have on the whole of Brazil. 

Besides direct exposure, the impacts of pesticide pollution can be felt globally. Due to the trade networks established, chemical laden coffee beans are transported and consumed easily worldwide. Toxins may bioaccumulate within those who consume the coffee made from these beans, which endangers their health in the long run.

While there are detrimental heath impacts brought about by coffee farming, it is difficult for coffee addicts to abstain from coffee. Perhaps supporting organic or sustainbuluty certified beans would be the way to go.

Bean on a Journey: An overview

From a farm to a cup, coffee beans undergo different processes before they are ready for consumption. Throughout these processes, conventional methods of production account for about 15.33kg of carbon dioxide per 1kg of green coffee (from Nab and Maslin, 2020), which is equivalent to the mass of 750 sushis! With more than 100 million bags of 60kg coffee being produced annually, one can only imagine the amount of carbon footprint produced. In this week's series of Bean on a Journey, we start by understanding the flow of coffee production. In the next two parts of the series, we will focus on the wet processing phase, which has recently gained more attention among the coffee community.

Generally, an avid consumer of coffee would understand the flow of production similar to what is shown in figure 1. Based on this knowledge, farming seemed to be understood as the most notorious for pollution due to the chain impacts caused by deforestation and farming processes (from Varcho, n.d.). Such impacts include water pollution from soil erosion and overfertilization, and air pollution from releasing sequestered carbon during deforestation. 

Figure 1: Coffee production process. Adapted from: https://ecoffee.vn/hanh-trinh-ki-dieu-mang-ten-from-farm-to-cup/

Other commonly known processes that contribute to pollution are roasting and brewing. During both processes, coffee grounds are usually disposed of as waste. As coffee grounds are organic, they release carbon dioxide and methane when they decompose in landfills, polluting the air, and contributing to global warming.

In between the mentioned processes, is the often-neglected coffee processing phase (refer to figure 2), which has recently risen in prominence due to sustainability efforts. Wet processing, in particular, is subjected to hot debates as it is water-intensive, and accounts for 54% of the water required in the entire production process (from Giraldi-Diaz et al., 2018). This suggests that a high magnitude of pollutants is being released during this process, and as such, garnering more attention to itself over the past few years.

Figure 2: Detailed flow of coffee production. The red box indicates the processes in question. Adapted from: Giraldi-Diaz et al., 2018

In this first instalment of Bean on a Journey, we explored the general flow of coffee production and briefly understood the impacts of the commonly known production processes. While lesser-known, coffee processing is gradually gaining prominence in its role in contributing to pollution. Hence, in the next instalment, we will ride the trend to explore the impacts of coffee processing in our environment.

Coffee Farming: Strategies in progress

Through proper management of coffee farms, production costs and fertilizer use can be lowered by 36.8% (from Thong et al., 2021). This suggests that the previously explored impacts associated with pollution can be alleviated with appropriate strategies in place. Here, we explore the effectiveness of one such strategy - sustainable certificates (SC) - in combatting the impacts of coffee farming that are associated with pollution.

Similar to our previous findings, Thong cited that environmental pollution is mainly caused by the overuse of chemicals, and the farmers were unwilling to decrease their usage as they believe that it negatively affects their yield and profits (from Thong et al., 2021). A solution devised was the introduction of SCs (from Thong et al., 2018), as such certificates entail useful programmes that educate farmers on sustainable ways of coffee cultivation to employ in their individual farms. For example, 4C's training taught farmers about reducing excessive fertilizer use via irrigation techniques, thereby reducing nutrient pollution to the soils and waters (from 4C). Hence, the incentives gained from achieving the SCs seem to be useful in reducing environmental pollution locally.

Besides environmental pollution, SCs are desirable as they help farmers increase their profits. As mentioned, with training from the different certification organizations, the cost of production of coffee is likely to decrease. Furthermore, as consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products (from Thong et al. 2018), it suggests that if ceteris paribus holds true, a decrease in production cost and an increase in selling price equates to higher profits. This hence benefits the farmers' livelihoods and the economy.

While beneficial, SCs does have their disadvantages. The World Bank, for instance, observed a slow uptake of the certificates among the farmers, with only 25% coffee certified, compared to other major coffee producers like Brazil (41%) and Columbia (60%) (from the World Bank). The effectiveness of SCs in combatting deforestation is also not well-researched (from Baker, 2012; Gaitán-Cremaschi et al., 2018). Hence, suggesting that refinements need to be done to the SC programmes to produce better results.

In this series of Coffee Farming, we briefly answered how coffee farms in Vietnam causes pollution locally and globally, and we wrapped it up by discussing the SC programmes as a strategy to reduce the effects of coffee farming pollution. This series offers only a glimpse into the primary production of coffee. There are still more to be uncovered in the next weeks.

Coffee Farming: A global concern

Will more be merrier? Not in the case of Vietnam's coffee plantations. Smallholders in Vietnam have been expanding their plantations for higher profits since the coffee commodity boom in the 1990s (from Hall et al., 2011). Such expansion constituting mega-projects has impacts on the global scale. Hence, we will be broadening our lenses to understand the global impacts of Vietnam's coffee mega-plantations.

Mega-plantations (from Miles and Noboru, 2019) is a concept involving the conversion of large acres of land for the farming of cash crops. This concept (according to Hall et al.) is demonstrated in Vietnam, as smallholders were eager to reap the high profits tagged to the coffee beans. Besides profits, the expansion of farmlands were also driven by unsuitable soil conditions as mentioned in the previous post. Consequently, large-scale deforestation took place, replacing 19% of  Vietnam's forest (from D’haeze et al, 2005), and releasing tonnes of sequestered carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, causing air pollution globally.

Over 1.1 million hectares of degraded agricultural land in Central Highlands, Vietnam. Image by: Nongnghiep, 2020

In addition to mega-plantations, the productivity levels of coffee trees play a subsidary role in contributing to the abovementionned air pollution. Typically, coffee trees only maintain their productivity for 15 to 25 years. Within this timeframe, factors like deteriorating soil conditions and  water availability concerns may force smallholders to replant their farmlands or abandon it (from Scherr et al., 2015), resulting in the release of carbon, polluting the atmosphere.

Farmer struggling with drought conditions. Image by: Communicaffe, 2016

While skeptics may claim that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant, they are partially right. Carbon dioxide can be categorised as naturally occuring or man-made. Only the carbon dioxide that exist as a result of human activities is considered a pollutant, as it negatively affects the environment and humans via the global warming phenomenon, resulting in undesirable circumstances like extreme weather conditions and impairment of human respiratory health (from Sciencing, 2021).

This second part of the Coffee Farming series explored how the conversion of coffee farms to mega-plantations in Vietnam, and the productivity cycle of coffee trees can cause air pollution, which contributes to the global warming effect. In the last Coffee Farming installment, we will explore the existing measures in place to reduce pollution in coffee plantations.

Coffee Farming: Problems stemming from localized pollution

Coffee is one of the most consumed drinks in the world. According to Statista, there is a 13% increase in coffee consumed worldwide in the past five years, and just last year, more than 9 billion kilograms of coffee had been consumed. While consumers mostly benefit from the coffee industry, producers of coffee beans are often at the losing end, as they suffer different damages that accompany coffee production (from Chanakya and Alwis, 2004; UNEP, 2021). Hence in this first installment of the Coffee Farming series, I would be investigating the damages experienced by the local coffee plantation workers in Vietnam, as a result of pollution during farming.

 

This week, we will be discussing the origins of kopi - a traditional cup of coffee that many Singaporeans recognize. As such, we will focus on Vietnam's coffee plantations, which is the largest producer of robusta beans that is essential to a cup of kopi. 

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), about 80-90% of the robusta beans are produced by multiple smallholders, with the main goal of turning high yields of coffee cherries into profits. The prevalence of unfavourable soil conditions, however, inhibited the smallholders from achieving their goals. While the article aptly identified several causes for the poor soil conditions, emphasis ought to be placed on the smallholders’ lack of agricultural knowledge, which resulted in overfertilization of soils, and hence the low cherry yields. Fertilizers mainly consist of nitrogen and phosphorus, which are known to promote plant growth. As such, it seems justified that farmers associate more fertilizers with higher cherry yields. However, overfertilization causes these nutrients to leach into and pollute the soils, causing the land to be less fertile. This kickstarts a negative feedback loop, as unknowing farmers continue fertilizing the lands in hopes of higher yield. Besides soil pollution, excess nutrients may dissolve and contaminate the waters, endangering people's health and contributing to the 150 million USD damage to the economy. Hence, education on agricultural techniques is essential to prevent further damages on the regional scale.

 

This first of the Coffee Farming series briefly explored how ignorance towards farming techniques can lead to regional soil and water pollution, which negatively affects the farmers, the people, and the economy in Vietnam. In the next post, we will explore how the farms cause pollution on a global scale, so stay tuned!