Why did we change our packaging?

A recyclable solution for coffee packaging was difficult to solve because of the particular properties that the material has to demonstrate. The delicious aroma and flavour attributes of fresh roasted coffee deteriorate when exposed to air. We need to use a material with low oxygen permeability, which means air cannot pass through, to ensure our coffee stays tasting fresh. Different types of material (paper, plastic, aluminium) have different levels of porousness, which means some materials keep coffee tasting fresher for a longer time than others. For example: plastic has a higher oxygen barrier than paper.

Our previous packaging had a very thin layer of Aluminium, a layer of plastic, and layer of paper. This maintained our coffee freshness, looked very attractive, but the material could not be recycled because the composite layers cannot be separated by waste processing facilities in the UK.

We conducted research to find a packaging: (1) that keeps our coffee fresh (2) is easy to dispose of (3) is recyclable (4) made from recycled material.

Advances in material science have created a single-layer-material, with special technical properties which protects the flavours of our delicious fresh-roasted coffee.

This material is:

• 100% recyclable at home, by most local council kerb-side waste collections.
• Manufactured from 60% renewable bio-materials (non-fossil fuel) and 30% post-consumer waste recycled material (via ISCC mass-balance)
• Carbon neutral via myclimate

What does the mass balance mean?

The mass balance approach has been developed in the chemical industry as an important milestone on the pathway towards a sustainable, circular economy.

Mass balance was designed to trace the flow of materials through a complex value chain. Bio-based materials are blended in the manufacturing, making physical segregation of recycled content practically and economically unworkable. The mass balance approach makes it possible for us to track the amount and sustainability characteristics of bio-based content in our packaging material and attribute it based on a verifiable auditing system. We receive a certificate for each batch of packaging material we have produced. This allows us to make credible claims about what we do.

Why not use compostable packaging materials?

We looked very closely at developing a coffee pack made from compostable materials, because it just sounds like the most harmless type of material. Composting is a good thing! Yet, when we researched how local authority waste disposal would handle compostable packaging - none we contacted had the infrastructure and facilities to handle this material correctly. Waste processors said this material if mixed with regular recyclable packaging waste, would contaminate it, meaning the whole batch would be disposed into landfill or incinerated because they could not separate it from general waste.

For us, the most logical waste stream for compostable packaging would be to chuck it into the food waste bin, but waste processors said it would be removed, and then disposed into landfill or incinerated.

And as for home composting, a recent citizen science project directed by Professor Mark Miodownik at UC London looked at biodegradable and compostable plastics tested under different home composting conditions. They identified that the majority did not fully disintegrate, including 60% of those that were certified “home compostable.” They concluded that... "home composting is not an effective or environmentally beneficial waste processing method for biodegradable or compostable packaging in the UK.” And for Industrial Composting – people are confused by this term, and the UK lacks infrastructure facilities to handle this.

For this reason, we decided to avoid compostables. And although our original aim when changing our packaging was to be plastic free, now even WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) says that it is more beneficial to the environment and the economy to use plastic packaging that can be recycled. The material has value and can be re-used and recycled back into useful packaging. Until new technologies and infrastructure exists for recycling compostable plastics, the best option is to use recyclable plastic.

Plastic becomes a problem when it is pollution. It can alter natural habitats and processes, reducing the ability of ecosystems to adapt to climate change, directly affecting millions of people's livelihoods, food production capabilities and social well-being. United Nations Environment Program says that the problem of plastic pollution doesn't exist in a vacuum.

We need a systemic transformation to achieve the transition to a circular economy. Become a responsible consumer and reduce the amount of waste, litter and general rubbish by regularly picking up rubbish and disposing of it correctly.