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Research Paper | Environmental Engineering | India | Volume 12 Issue 9, September 2023 | Rating: 5.5 / 10

Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Compostable Coffee Lids

Nikhil N. Kamble | Gunavant K. Kate

Abstract: Single-serve coffee cups are occupying a growing share in the coffee market. They come with a combination of cup and a lid which are compostable in nature. The study evaluates the environmental impacts of compostable coffee lids through their entire life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to the production of finished lids. ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards, along with Eco invent database and SimaPro software was used to carry out environmental impacts of compostable coffee lids. The type of lids considered was 80mm and the functional unit was 1000 lids produced. Inventory analysis was done on site. CML baseline method and World 2000 normalization method was used to assess the environmental impacts. The results of the LCA show that compostable coffee lids have lower environmental impacts than conventional plastic lids in many categories, particularly in terms of global warming potential and fossil fuel depletion. For 80mm paper lid electricity has the highest contribution in all the environmental impact categories which is more than 90% except for ozone layer depletion viz. 67.74 %. Suggestions regarding use of renewable energy and approach to local vendors for material were suggested for reduction of impact.

Keywords: Coffee lids, Global warming potential, Life cycle assessment, SimaPro

Edition: Volume 12 Issue 9, September 2023,

Pages: 1601 - 1604