STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 33 Plant-based plastics can be environmentally sound packaging, many are biodegradable in soil, but they suffer a shared flaw – they don't degrade in seawater. The United Nation's top environmental scientist explains that "a lot of plastics labeled biodegradable, like shopping bags, will only break down in temperatures of 50 Centigrade and that is not the ocean. They are also not buoyant, so they're going to sink, so they're not going to be exposed to UV light and break down." David Christian turned to the sea for a solution. His native Indonesia is the second largest producer of seaweed globally. It is also one of the worst plastic polluters. "Plastics are contaminating everything, our air, our food, and even our water," he said. So Christian, one of four founding partners of Evoware set out to create a natural, sustainable packag- ing film that is not plastic. The result is sheets of a food-safe, edible film that is pleasantly opaque, nearly odorless, tasteless, heat sealable, and dissolves in warm water. Evoware packaging film is created with a non-chemical process. The film has a two- year shelf life, even without preservatives, is nutritious with high fiber and essential vitamins. The film is printable using natural colored dyes and a great fertilizer when discarded. Seaweed farming at low tide at Nusa Lembongan island Seaweed Sachets Photo courtesy Evoware It is biodegradable in soil and water. It is currently being used as food wrap and to make seasoning packets for in- stant noodles (the packets dissolve in the cup). He is also experimenting with sachets containing coffee. The 6cm x 6cm coffee sachet readily infuses and the remaining micro-grounds and sachet are backyard compostable. Some 70% of packaging is for food and beverage with sizeable tonnage used for coffee and tea. Christian said he is concerned that there will be more plas- tic than fish in the sea by 2050. In 2017 Evoware won a $1 million Cir- cular Design Challenge grant presented by the European Union. The company will soon complete its participation in the New Plastic Economy Accelerator Program. Learn more: www.evoware.id Reusable Coffee Bean Pails Scotland's Rocket Monkey Coffee Roastery delivers wholesale coffee in re-sealable, reusable tins. "No more bags, helping save the planet one solution at a time," says roastery man- aging director Andrew O'Donnell. Sustain- able packaging has to be at the forefront of any business that supplies consumable based products, he says. Are they practical? Tins hold a precise amount and offer great protection during delivery. Sealed tight they prove much more resistant to stray odors in transit. "Keep freshness in the tin and keep throwaway packaging out of the landfill," says O'Donnell. "Even small changes make big differences." By Dan Bolton Compostable Coffee Pods Test results of a long-term study confirm that cer- tified compostable coffee pods break down in the Toronto's green bin food waste process. This opens the door to widespread acceptance of certified com- postable coffee pods in green bin programs across Canada and points to an effective, convenient, and consumer-friendly solution to single serve coffee waste that can also cut costs for taxpayers. Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certified pods used by McCafé, Muskoka Roastery, Melitta Canada, and Ethical Bean Roasters and manufactured by Club Coffee performed well. Loblaw Brands s.v.p. Ian Gordon said the tests are a "welcomed confirma- tion of the benefits of these pods" used in the company's private label brands. "This innovative solution solves a big environmental challenge for millions of Canadians," he said. "Attempting to recycle coffee pods offers us the least environ- mental return based on money spent," says York University waste expert Dr. Calvin Lakhan. "It is 30 times more expensive to abate one metric ton of carbon through coffee pod recycling, than through coffee pod composting," he said. Successful decomposition of cof- fee pods made with renewable, plant-based materials addresses consumer backlash against throwaway, single-use plastics while retaining industry standard performance. Learn more: www.toronto.ca Compostable SOLUTIONS Recyclable Biodegradeable

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