Elevating Europe’s Coffee With Sustainable Lids

For hundreds of years, coffee has been central to European culinary culture and has turned the continent into the coffee capital of the world. But Europe’s love of coffee has come with a devastating environmental toll from the plastic lids used on billions of to-go cups. The UK alone uses more than 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups and lids annually - enough to circle the globe five times.

Only 9% of plastic ever produced has been recycled.

The stark reality is the majority of plastic lids and coffee cups end up in landfills, where they can take decades to decompose and release harmful microplastics that pollute our food, water and bodies in the process. It’s become such a dire issue that the EU announced plans to ban single-use plastics by 2030, that includes coffee cup lids.

But as we’ve continued to see around the world, bans and fees on single-use plastic aren’t enough to drive real change without a viable alternative.

Introducing our sustainable snap-fit coffee lid

Now available in Europe, our snap-fit coffee lids are the solution: a compostable, recyclable lid available at the cost and scale needed to help European brands say goodbye to plastic lids for good.

But developing a lid that holds up to hot liquids and is compostable, is no easy feat. Through extensive R&D, combined with our advanced robotics, we are able to develop a cost-effective solution that performs like plastic, but without the environmental consequences. Made with consumers in mind our lids undergo a rigorous testing and quality control process to ensure they perform the way consumers expect, snapping onto to-go cups preventing leaks with every sip.

Plus, our lids are made from moldable fibers from natural materials like bagasse (sugarcane fiber), bamboo, wheat, straw, and more, so they are more environmentally friendly.

Providing European brands with a viable alternative to plastic

In the coming months, we will begin delivering our advanced molded-fiber lids to European food brands across the UK, Germany, Benelux, Scandinavia, France, Italy, and Spain with additional countries to be announced later this year. Each lid is an important step toward reducing Europe’s dependence on plastic lids and moving toward a more sustainable future.

Our continued commitment to help brands move away from plastic

Our snap-fit coffee lids are just one of the ways we’re helping global brands reduce their reliance on plastic. We offer a range of hardware, software and services to help brands accelerate the transition away from plastic and styrofoam. In addition to our sustainable snap-fit lids, European brands can utilize our range of compostable food and beverage packaging including anti-leak hot cup lids, food delivery bowls and containers, three piece meal trays and more so we can move toward a plastic-free world together.

In the meantime, enjoy your coffee—and hold the plastic.