22 Food & Drink
Compostable coffee
PROMOTIONAL CONTENT
Every single second of every day, many people around the world have to make a decision about what to do with their used coffee pod. Should they chuck it in the rubbish, or should they attempt to recycle it? Recycling coffee pods is a process that can involve storing used pods in a bag before locating and driving to the nearest collection site. Given the choice, it’s no surprise that most of the pods that are produced every year end up in landfill. This is why David Foster, and his two co-founders, created Halo Coffee, a company that produce home-compostable paper-based coffee pods and fill them with exceptional coffee. “We want to put fantastic coffee into this convenient format, but
in a way that makes people feel good about what they are using,’ says David. “There are dozens of companies doing plastic or aluminium, and it’s all going into waste. Ours can be composted at home so it returns to the soil in as little as 28 days, even quicker in a hot composter and under two weeks in an industrial composter.” Halo make pulp-based capsules that are compatible with Nespresso Home Original machines. These are made from waste sugar-cane fibre and every aspect of the
production process is controlled for sustainability. The packaging is printed using non-toxic vegetable ink rather than oil-based polymers. Boxes and inserts are home compostable, recyclable and reusable and even the stickers that seal the boxes can be composted.
Consumers are beginning to think more carefully about their environmental decisions while continuing to demand gourmet produce The outer laminate casing looks like a plastic but is a biolaminate derived from renewable food sources, so it’s fully home compostable while ensuring that the capsules are preserved for freshness. This provides a stark contrast to the majority of coffee pod producers, who use plastic, bio-plastic or, at best, aluminium, which is not easy to recycle and creates four tonnes of waste in the form of mercury, vanadium, chromium, lead,
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titanium and arsenic for every one tonne of aluminium. As the world moves towards a more sustainable way of life, consumers are beginning to think more carefully about their environmental decisions while continuing to demand gourmet produce. “We have proved the [compostable] model works and we want to expand the business because that will reduce people’s use of plastic,” says Foster. “The bigger we get, the more of a difference we can make.” In a bid to further strengthen their already sustainabilitydriven credentials and pioneering the movement towards fully compostable boxed packaging, Halo now produce roasted whole beans in a unique and completely compostable packaging. “Did you know that the valve in
Why do coffee bags have a valve? When coffee is roasted, chemical reactions create gases which are released over the next 48 hours from the porous structure of the beans, especially when you grind your fresh beans at home. The valve allows these gases to be released. The release of gases indicates freshly roasted beans and plays a big role in the taste, helps to form the frothy ‘crema’ and influences the taste of the cup. a standard coffee bag is made of plastic, and the bag itself is usually foil lined or plastic lined?” says David. “We wanted to do away with all of those negative materials and developed the most environmental pack we could. Halo’s strapline, ‘the world’s best coffees in a way that’s best for the world’, sums up the heart and soul of the project – helping to reduce waste and keep our planet healthy.” by Barnaby Dracup
