Re-imagining our coffee bag waste

Upcyling our coffee bags.

At present, our coffee bags are not recyclable. Over the years we’ve experimented with a number upcycling projects, and are always on the look out for new, creative ways to use our bags.

Not having a recyclable bag is certainly not from lack of effort - we're always on the hunt for suitable, sustainable coffee packaging. Our team keep close tabs on developments in the field of sustainable packaging with the intent to adopt suitable, sustainable coffee packaging as soon as it’s commercially available.

Why sourcing sustainable coffee packaging is tricky.

Oxygen speeds up coffee degradation, so it's important to properly store coffee once roasted. Here are some tips on how to keep your coffee fresh »

Salt Spring Coffee and countless other roasters use high barrier bags to package coffee. Simply put, barrier bags let off-gas nitrogen out, while keeping oxygen from getting in. The coffee bean is the seed of a fruit – and, as is the case with fruit – it can spoil quickly unless preserved and stored properly.

What we’ve learned along the way.

First and foremost, that this is an important issue for our customers.

We've tried cellulose-based bags but our testing has shown that they can degrade under normal conditions of light and moisture exposure, even on a grocery shelf.

Unfortunately, other packaging options that have been marketed as “compostable” prove otherwise. In the end, the product does not break down even after long periods of time, unless put through an intensive industrial composting process. And, in many municipalities industrial composting is not easy to access or even available.

We've also experimented with coffee tins and have found that a tin does not provide a net environmental benefit unless the consumer reuses the tin hundreds of times over. The lifecycle of a tin – from the mining, processing and transport – is in the end, much more energy intensive than a high barrier coffee bag, so we sidelined the tin idea. Though technically reusable and recyclable, it's just not the right sustainable option for us.

If you'd like clarification on a particular item outlined here, or have an upcycling idea for our coffee bags please contact us.