Compostable Coffee Capsules

Challenge:

The global coffee industry has seen a significant rise in popularity, particularly for single-serve coffee capsules, whose global market is growing and currently estimated at 82 billion units.

While these capsules offer convenience, they also pose environmental challenges at the end of their lifecycle. Coffee capsules are a unique type of packaging designed to be used and disposed along with their contents. However, whether they are recycled or incinerated, the organic content – which accounts for approximately 80% of the total weight – is lost.

Solution:

Certified compostable capsules disintegrate and biodegrade along with the coffee ground without compromising the compost quality or leaving behind persistent microplastics, unlike conventional plastic capsules which are often found contaminating the organic waste stream. Furthermore, the adoption of compostable capsules reduces the contamination of other recycling streams with organic material and diverts waste from incineration and landfills.

Taghleef Industries, through its reDESIGN™ service, is at the forefront of this transition, actively collaborating with industry partners to develop industrially compostable coffee capsule solutions incorporating NATIVIA® films, with several such solutions already available to consumers.  

NATIVIA® BOPLA films are effectively utilized as a sealant layer in the lidding of industrially compostable coffee capsules, in lamination with other compostable substrates. They exhibit excellent compatibility with commercially available PLA-based capsule bodies, providing a strong seal that contributes to preserving the coffee’s freshness.

Looking ahead, ongoing developments within the NATIVIA® portfolio are perfectly aligned with evolving market demands, targeting the creation of high-barrier and home compostable solutions for coffee capsules.

Benefits:

• Increase of bio-waste capture for composting: this redesigned solution enables the disposal of the entire coffee capsule in the bio-waste bin, reducing the contamination the organic waste stream and increasing the amount of coffee ground being processed into valuable compost
  
• Reduce use of fossil-based resources: this redesigned solution eliminates the need for conventional plastic in coffee capsules, as NATIVIA® films are derived from renewable resources
  
• Optimal product performance: the strong sealing properties of NATIVIA® BOPLA films in the capsule lidding help to guarantee the requested high level of product performance and consumer satisfaction

Contact Taghleef Industries today to learn more about our reDESIGN™ service and explore our innovative compostable coffee capsule solution.
Together, we can create a more sustainable future for the coffee industry.