100% compostable Glen Lyon Coffee bags and takeaway cups
Introducing our new compostable 250g bags and takeaway cups: revamped, redesigned, and crucially, more sustainable.
Coffee bags are one of our most important assets, both for catching the eye and educating the coffee drinker. Unfortunately, historically they’re also one of the hardest to keep out of landfill, which is why we’ve worked hard with the sustainable packaging company Grounded to produce a new range of retail packaging that is home compostable.
Our new takeaway cups and lids are made in the UK, certified home and industrially compostable, and certified paper recyclable. While other takeaway cups tend to use a PLA (plant-based plastic) liner, ours are made only of Delipac paper and are certified to a minimum of 99.25% plastic-free.
The New Bags
The new bags are plant made, with a 90-95% biobased content made from plant byproducts like sugarcane, corn etc. This means that they don’t rely on plastics and thus reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
They are also 100% compostable. If you don’t have access to a commercial composting service, we suggest putting them in your home compost bin. While they are not certified home compostable, and will take longer to break down than traditional home compost, they will eventually decompose into usable compost.
The whole pouch including the zipper and valve are made from certified compostable materials, they are suitable for commercial compost but will break down in a well managed home compost over a longer period of time. For more information about the certifications, please see Grounded’s website.
The Problem of Coffee Bags
Waste is a big problem throughout the coffee supply chain, and we are committed to reducing our footprint across our business. However the reality is that the supply chain is incredibly complex and while we encourage our suppliers and partners to reduce their own waste, we can only control so much.
This means there’s even more onus on ourselves to reduce the amount of waste that we send to landfill from our roastery. We’ve been utilizing compostable bags for a number of years, but the technology is always advancing and so we’re always looking to improve their compostability.
The new cups
Many takeaway cups claim to be industrially compostable, but since the composting facilities are unable to tell which cups are truly compostable and which aren't, they just filter them all out and send them down another waste stream (likely landfill or incineration).
Once we learned this we knew we had to dump our big-brand cups. The world of takeaway cups is weirdly complex, but we have ended up with cups that are certified home compostable (to NF T51-800), industrially compostable (to EN13432), and paper recyclable (to EN13430). This means that they are more likely to end up in a waste stream where they have less impact on the planet.
They are made in the UK using a material called Delipac paperboard and are certified (minimum) 99.25% plastic-free by Flustix, a german organization that is creating a new standard for testing products for plastic content.
We are now planning a test with our local waste facility to find out whether they will be able to accept our takeaway cups into their industrial composting facility.
Packaging FAQ
WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY BAG WHEN I’M FINISHED WITH IT?
If you have access to one, an industrial composting service is the best solution. If you have a home compost bin, then we suggest cutting up your bag and adding it to your compost. It will take longer to break down than in a commercial system, but will eventually degrade into useable compost. We don’t suggest putting the bag into your council food waste collection unless such a service specifically allows compostable packaging (it might be a good idea to check if you’re unsure).
HOW LONG WILL MY BAG TAKE TO DECOMPOSE?
The time it takes for our bags to biodegrade depends on the conditions of the composting environment. Industrial or commercial compost facilities run at higher temperatures and certification protocol requires materials to biodegrade within six months. Home composts are more variable and depend on external factors such as temperature, humidity and how often they’re turned.
CAN MY BAG BE RECYCLED?
These bags are made from plant-based materials and so should be composted rather than recycled. If you don't have access to a composting service or a home composter, then they're better off going in the general rubbish.
WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF YOUR PACKAGING?
Our 1KG bags are also certified commercially compostable, and our posting envelopes and boxes are made from recycled cardboard.