Gordon St Coffee introduced UK’s first fully compostable
coffee capsules
September 23 - 2021
Coffee Geography Magazine
Gordon St Coffee, based in
Scotland brought its new Nespresso-compatible capsules made from Solinatra,
a biomaterial alternative to single-use plastic to the UK market.
The company announced that the new capsules are both
biodegradable and compostable which fit to be trashed in food waste and garden
compost bins.
Researchers have assured customers that the capsules break down
in the same time frame as a banana skin and leave behind “zero contamination”
or microplastics.
The new capsules are available to purchase from Gordon St
Coffee’s roasteries in Glasgow and Edinburgh or online from the company’s
website. The capsules come in packs of ten, at a retail price of £5, and are
also available as a subscription.
Solinatra uses the by-products of harvested crops to create a
material that apparently looks and feels like plastic. Over 60 billion coffee
capsules are consumed each year worldwide. It further claims that, while some
coffee capsules are marketed as compostable, most are made from multiple layers
of material and contain plastics or aluminium.
Coffee capsules on the UK market are often only industrially
compostable and do not always reach specialist recycling centers. Gordon St
Coffee claims that its new Solinatra range is the “first truly
sustainable" coffee capsule on the UK market.
The Solinatra material was initially launched by
biomaterials manufacturer Coda Group earlier this year. Apparently
suitable for a wide range of applications as well as coffee capsules, Solinatra
has been highlighted as an “exciting innovation” for sustainable packaging.