Gordon Street Coffee launches home compostable capsules made from Coda’s Solinatra biomaterial

21 Sep 2021 --- Gordon Street Coffee has launched Nespresso-compatible home compostable capsules made of Solinatra, a biomaterial that breaks down as fast as a banana skin. The company maintains the capsules leave behind zero contamination or harmful microplastics. 

Solinatra, the same named-brand in the Coda Group family, uses the by-products of harvested crops and blends them with plant-based additives to create a material that looks and feels like plastic. 

“Customers choose coffee capsules because they are easy and convenient, but recycling options are difficult and impractical,” Robert de Jong, CEO of Coda Group, tells PackagingInsights.

“Innovations in compostable materials enable a simple solution. Solinatra capsules can go in a food waste collection or garden compost bin and will degrade without contamination or pollution.”

Moreover, the capsule material is sourced from UK crops and produced in the UK, which lowers the environmental footprint to “a fraction of traditional materials,” Solinatra asserts.

Most coffee capsules are technically recyclable, Solinatra flags, but only a very small proportion find their way to specialist recycling centers.Coffee capsules abound
De Jong highlights over 60 billion coffee capsules are consumed each year worldwide. To mitigate pollution risks, several companies have introduced alternatives to unrecyclable single-use plastic pods. 

Notably, some Nespresso coffee capsules are made with 80% recycled aluminum, while Lost Sheep Coffee launched wood bark capsules and Melitta developed recycled plastic tea capsules.

In February, Xoma and Nexe launched soluble organic MCT coffee in fully compostable capsules. Meanwhile, Lavazza introduced Eco Caps, a range of compostable coffee capsules in partnership with TerraCycle.

Nexe’s president also recently spoke with PackagingInsights about its 3D printed compostable espresso pods, while UK retailer Sainsbury’s became the first UK retailer to label its own brand aluminum coffee pods as recyclable using OPRL labels. 

Truly recyclable?
Despite this innovation throughout the industry, Solinatra flags most coffee capsules may be technically recyclable, but only a “very small proportion” find their way to specialist recycling centers.

The company further warns other products often marketed as compostable are only industrially compostable, which means they are dependent on wider composting infrastructure that varies from region to region. 

Moreover, de Jong adds that some “compostable” products can still contain fossil fuel plastics, which break down into microplastics.

Beyond coffee capsules, Solinatra is now looking to expand its material to cup lids and cutlery.Beyond capsule packaging
Zero waste strategies like Gordon Street Coffee’s compostable capsules are becoming increasingly popular, with uses ranging from hand sanitizer to ice cream spoons and shampoo bottles.

The Solinatra biomaterial can be used for many items conventionally made with single-use plastics. 

“We are developing blends of our material to produce cup lids and cutlery, as well as longer-lasting products such as coat hangers and cosmetics packaging,” de Jong concludes.

By Anni Schleicher