Q: What are your products made of? Do you know what kind of plant-based plastics you use (durable or biodegradable)? Why do you use one over the other?

 

A: Our to-go cups, lids, straws, and to-go utensils are primarily PLA and made from corn starch. We always try to source the most sustainable option we can, which to our understanding is compostable as biodegradable is a broader term that simply means it can break down over time as opposed to composting which requires that a product breaks down within a certain time frame, say 3 to 6 months as opposed to hundreds of years.  

 

Q: Why do you use Action over other carting services?

 

A: We've looked into several composting carting companies but given we're 11 locations strong and growing Action was easily the best choice for us as they have the resources to pick up all of our recycling, compost, and the little bit of landfill we have as needed.  

 

Q: How much does it cost to have compostables collected?

 

A: They charge us by location based on week-long audits wherein they measure our daily composting, recycling, and landfill and charge us accordingly. Some types of waste are measured by pound, some by cubic yard etc. It all depends, and it varies from location to location. For further info I'd reach out to Action, but here's what one of our locations recycling and composting was just audited at:

 

Think Hudson Yards :

-cardboard: sun - fri night : $44.00 per mo.

-compost: sun - fri night : $429 per month

-single Stream: sun - fri night: $25 per mo.

 

Q: Why is it worth the cost to have plant-based products collected?

 

A: It's worth the cost to Think Coffee because we've committed ourselves to be as sustainable as possible. Since we're using primarily compostable products it made sense for us to pay to have it properly collected in the same way that you arrange to have your recycling properly collected. We absorb the cost, which is higher, because our environmental footprint is more of a priority to us than our profit margins.  

 

Q: Why is it so important for Think to use all plant-based products and why do you favor compostable products over petroleum based plastics?

 

A: Given the options available to us, we believe this is the most environmentally responsible way to continue carrying to-go packaging. As great as it'd be to phase out single use packaging entirely, our customers understandably need them. Even though compostable packaging is sometimes twice as much as petroleum based, and it costs more to have Action pick it up, we're committed to being as sustainable as possible regardless of how it effects our margins.

 

Q: Do you know where your compostables end up? Have you spoken to Action about this?

 

A: Another great question. Action told us they have two sites they use. We're actually in talks with Damion, our rep, to tour them right now but he's primarily excited about us touring their state of the art recycling separator. I don't have the addresses for these sites on hand, but Action should be able to get them for you.

 

Q: Have you considered other carting companies?

 

A: Yeah, like I wrote above, we have looked into other composting companies but, given our size, they can't currently meet our demand.

 

Q: What is the greatest challenge that comes with a sustainable business model?

 

A: Even though we've been composting for years at this point the technology and materials are still new and sometimes it's hard to source what we need, especially at the volume we need. That said, due to the degrading state of our environment and increased activism and interest there's more monetary incentive for companies to create more sustainable options and more motivation for businesses to go green even though the cost is higher.

 

(Case in point, we actually just tried switching to a domestic compostable hot cup company and the cups leaked. They tried different papers and adhesives to no avail. They were trying to break into the compostable market but didn't realize how hard it can be, which in turn made things extremely hard for us. We had to source different cups and currently have unbranded cups because of all of this.)  

 

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?

 

A: Really excited that so many folks such as yourself are showing so much interest in environmental sustainability in the service industry. I actually interviewed another NYU student for their project yesterday and have also interviewed with some Colombia students recently. Given the state of things it's really encouraging to see so many tenacious, smart people attacking these issues.