LINCOLN, CA, U.S. —San Francisco Bay Coffee Company debuted today the country’s first ‘No Waste’ OneCup single-serve coffee pods, now available at Costco stores nationwide in the U.S.
“The ‘No Waste’ OneCup is a huge step toward potentially reducing the environmental footprint associated with single-serve coffees,” said Jim Rogers, one of four Rogers siblings who run the family-owned San Francisco Bay Coffee Company.
“Now that San Francisco Bay Coffee has shown we can produce pods made from 100% compostable materials that come in recyclable packaging, we’re hoping the industry follows suit so we can really move the needle on coffee-related waste.”
San Francisco Bay Company for years has been exploring solutions to reducing the environmental footprint associated with drinking coffee. But producing the “No Waste” OneCup has been a long journey for San Francisco Bay Coffee and was not without its challenges.
When the Rogers family first started looking for compostable materials that could pass the rigorous testing protocol required for certification, maintain the quality of San Francisco Bay Coffee and hold up to the heat and other factors associated with coffee brewing, the technology didn’t exist.
Recent innovations in materials science finally produced a solution that allowed San Francisco Bay to produce a compostable pod that met all the criteria.
But even then, the company had to wait to roll out its ‘No Waste’ OneCup until enough of that compostable material was available and until it had received the appropriate compostable certifications from the Biodegradable Products Institute, the recognized certifying agency for compostability.
San Francisco Bay Coffee Co. sees reducing coffee-related waste as an industry imperative. And while some major retailers and niche players have offered partial solutions, a No-Waste single-serve solution is a challenge the broader coffee industry had not yet cracked.
Meanwhile the market for single-serve coffee pods continues to accelerate, and now makes up 36.5% of total coffee sales, according to data from the National Coffee Association.
And as the demand continues to grow, so does the waste associated with single-serve convenience. Lined up, the single serve coffee pods thrown away each year could circle the Earth more than 10 times.
“We know that most people want the option to recycle or compost their single-serve pods, but we also understand that doing so needs to be convenient or else people won’t do it,” said John Rogers, board member and VP of Sales at San Francisco Bay Coffee Company. “If you have to go through multiple steps to separate materials in order to recycle a coffee pod, we know a lot of those will end up in the garbage. And we also thought – what’s the point of making a compostable pod if you’re just going to seal it inside a non-recyclable bag?”
San Francisco Bay’s ‘No Waste’ OneCup single-serve pods are sealed inside a compostable bag and a recyclable corrugated cardboard box, which means OneCup customers with access to industrial composting services or facilities don’t have to throw any part of the single-serve pod or packaging into the trash.
“We’re constantly exploring how to improve our products and the coffee industry as a whole,” said Pete Rogers, President of San Francisco Bay Coffee Co. “From funding schools and housing and health clinics for the farmers who supply our coffee, to developing innovative ways to process coffee that produce less waste, to pursuing compostability for our OneCup, we’re trying to make our mark on the industry to benefit everyone.”
The ‘No Waste’ OneCup is now certified compostable in industrial compost facilities. Find information on the location of composting facilities at findacomposter.com. The ‘No Waste’ OneCup is initially available for San Francisco Bay Coffee’s 100-count French Roast blend in all Costco locations across the US. The company will roll out the ‘No Waste’ OneCup for all future varieties including Fog Chaser, Breakfast Blend, Decaf French Roast and Organic Rainforest blends in coming months at additional retailers as well as online.
Single-serve coffee stats:
- 33% of U.S. consumers own a single-cup brewing system
- Single-serve coffee makes up 36.5% of total coffee sales
- Single-serve coffee generated $3.71 billion in sales in the U.S. in 2016
*According to data from the National Coffee Association.
