Eco Coffee Bags: fully compostable packaging

It's taken almost a year of R&D but we're finally excited to announce all our coffees are now available in totally eco-friendly coffee bags!

We've worked hard to develop bags that meet the highest standards for sustainability and are truly eco-friendly. 

About the new bags:

• 100% compostable and biodegradable
• Can be disposed of in your kitchen waste bin
• Entirely made from plants!
• Resealable zipper and value also compostable
• Stamped with the TÜV AUSTRIA OK Compost seedling logo - the world's highest standard for eco-friendly packaging. 

You might recognise the OK Compost logo - it's a familiar sight on kitchen caddy liner bags and essentially is made from the same plant-based material.

Our pouches have an outer Kraft paper shell and resealable zip and gas release valve. All of these components are also completely compostable and contain no plastic whatsoever.

Compostable versus biodegradable 

Biodegradable doesn't mean anything. Literally everything is biodegradable! Heck, even diamond will biodegrade after a few million years' exposure to sunlight and water. 

Plastic is biodegradable too. That doesn't mean it's good for the planet or ocean though.

Compostable on the other hand, means that not only does the substance break down over time but it actually nurtures the soil and adds nutrients back into the ground. 

That's why we've worked with manufacturers to develop these new fully compostable coffee pouches, which are now available across our coffee range.

What about the tins?

We're still selling some coffee, hot chocolate and chai in tins! 

Our aim with using tins was to ensure a longer life-cycle for packaging, and at the end of their usable life you could recycle them easily. 

We've found that our coffee tins are surprisingly long-lasting, even being thrown about in rucksacks on regular hikes! But this poses a new problem: what happens when you order more brews and end up with loads of tins?

The new coffee pouches are a great way to top up your empty tins and can be used as an eco-friendly refill as needed.

How to dispose of the new pouches

You should be able to put the empty coffee pouches in your kitchen waste bin, just like the caddy bags you're probably already using. 

However, some councils haven't quite caught up with the advances in eco-friendly packaging yet so if you find the bags being rejected from your kitchen waste, then there are other ways to dispose of them.

You can home compost these pouches, although we'd recommend removing the zip and valve and shredding the bags first. 

If you do end up disposing of the pouches in your household bin, then don't worry too much - being compostable means these pouches won't harm the environment no matter where they end up breaking down.