Since we started CRU Kafe back in 2013, it has been our mission to bring you the highest quality Organic, Fairtrade coffee in the most ethical and sustainable fashion.
So, as you could probably imagine, we are extremely excited to announce that our entire coffee range - from pods, beans, grounds and bags, is now 100% recyclable. Whilst our coffee pods are made from recyclable aluminium (more on that here), the rest of our range has finally made the move to LDPE (low density polyethylene). In short, it is 100% recyclable and ensures your coffee remains as fresh as possible.
So, what’s the packaging made of?
It's called low-density polyethylene, or LDPE. It is considered a very ‘clean and safe’ flexible plastic, and is often recycled into items such as garbage bins and liners, furniture and flooring. More importantly, LDPE ensures that your CRU Kafe will remain as fresh as possible, for as long as possible!
How do I recycle it?
While some councils collect it from the kerbside, many don't. You may need to make a trip to your local supermarket or recycling centre. There’s a great resource we’ve found where you can check if your council accepts LDPE, or where your nearest recycling centre is.
Why not biodegradable?
Our biggest hope here at CRU is to simply find biodegradable packaging that will work across all of our product range, that could simply be thrown away with normal food waste, safe in the knowledge that it would degrade and disappear in a matter of weeks. Unfortunately, we haven’t found the perfect alternative just yet.
Besides the issues with keeping your coffee fresh (biodegradable bags just aren’t as airtight as other materials), the ultimate deciding factor came from honing in on exactly how they would be composted. Research shows that only around 60% of the material used to make biodegradable coffee bags will break down correctly. The remaining 40% consists of non-biodegradable layers, degassing valves, and sealing systems, which need to be removed and separately placed in the corresponding bin.
With our research, showing that with even the best of intentions, only 15% of biodegradable packaging would be fully composted and recycled correctly.
This isn’t to say that we have stopped looking for a biodegradable alternative; here at CRU Kafe we are constantly looking for more eco-friendly alternatives.
