In order to design a product that creates value, a crucial step known as the analysis phase is set up. During that, a plan is set up to gather data, which is then carefully studied to uncover important insights. Before diving in, a clear problem statement is formulated: design a new mass-producible Nespresso coffee machine, that uses a single-portion system, which is more sustainable than industry standards. The statement gives a clear base to what information needs to be seeked.
Analysis
Material considerations
The aim of the project is to come up with a sustainable and innovative design for the coffee pods. To come up with the best possible solution, moving further it is important to define what is a sustainable material for a coffee pod. That way it is more clear which legislation potentially restricts the use of certain materials. First, criteria is set which shows what is not sustainable: materials which have a poor end of life management; materials that are mixed or toxic, meaning they would be harder to recycle and more dangerous for the consumer; non-biodegradable materials as well as materials with a high environmental impact. From the legislations of the European Union it is found that oxo-degradable plastics are deemed non-biodegradable.[1] For this reason oxo-degradable materials made from plastic are not taken into account. Furthermore, it is decided to make the life of the coffee consumer easier. Therefore, the decision was made to only look at solutions which could be thrown into the green bin, as this kind of trash is ultimately disposed of in a sustainable manner.
Moreover, material requirements are set up to ensure the best possible coffee quality and user experience. To ensure the above mentioned criteria, certain characteristics had to be met by the newly found material. The material needs to be non-reactive with coffee; have a sufficiently strong barrier against moisture, as moisture also negatively affects the quality of the coffee; sufficient UV-protection and heat resistance.
In order to have a valid point of reference when comparing materials, it is decided to use the Nespresso cups, made out of aluminium as a reference point. The problem with aluminium is that it requires more steps from the consumer’s perspective to recycle it. They are also extremely hard to find amidst all the other compacted trash. Due to this reason it becomes astonishingly difficult to recycle these once they have reached the landfill. Moving on, using the software Granta, the above-mentioned characteristics are determined and compared to other similar materials. From the material properties of aluminium, a chart is made to plot the other materials to see how well they compared, based off of a total metric worth one hundred points. Each category is worth the same number of points. This can be seen in chart below.
From the research on Granta, one can conclude that the most suitable material is PHBV, scoring 56 out of 100 points.
PHBV is part of a list of materials that are considered to be biodegradable. Under the umbrella of biodegradability however, compostable materials can be found. These materials offer the advantage of not only fully decomposing after being subject to a natural environment, but also that they do not leave behind any harmful or toxic microplastics that could potentially pollute their surroundings. To fit the stringent demands and to pursue the vision of a more sustainable future, it was decided to omit the use of PHBV and to look for a combination of compostable materials that meet the sustainability requirements whilst still maintaining the coffee’s quality.
The material considerations were based on Appendices ‘’Legislation’’, ‘’Sustainability’’ and ‘’Materials research.’’
1 Directive - 2018/852 - EN - EUR-LEX. (n.d.). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32018L0852