Canadian coffee roasting company Pistol & Burnes has selected cellulose-based NatureFlex film from Innovia Films for the production of a fully compostable pack for its Farmer First organic coffee brand.
The Fair Trade coffee brand is packed in a paper bag laminated to transparent NatureFlex film, which is certified to meet the American ASTM D6400, European EN13432 and Australian AS4736 standards for compostable packaging.
Wood pulp for NatureFlex is sourced from managed plantations, Innovia says, and the renewable biobased content of the films is typically 95% by weight of material, according to ASTM D6866.
Pistol & Burnes president Roy M Hardy says: “Most roasted coffee sold in the world is packaged in either foil bags coated in plastic, or paper bags with a plastic liner. These usually end up going straight to landfill as they can prove difficult to recycle.
“However our enviro-friendly coffee bag can be organically recycled (composted), which means it breaks down in a home compost bin.”
Sourced originally from wood fibre, NatureFlex film is said to break down “within a matter of weeks” at the end of its lifecycle, in a home or industrial composting environment, and is also confirmed to be suitable for emerging ‘waste to energy’ techniques such as anaerobic digestion.
The Pistol & Burnes Farmer First brand coffee bags were developed by Canada-based converter Genpak. Technical manager Bill Reilly explains: “First and foremost, the film performs well technically, having high barrier properties and good seal integrity that enhance shelf life, keeping oxygen out and aroma in – very important for packaging coffee.”
NatureFlex films also offer advantages for packing and converting such as inherent deadfold and anti-static properties, high gloss and resistance to grease and oil, good barrier to gases, aromas and mineral oils and a wide heat-seal range.
Innovia Films' NatureFlex - used in new compostable coffee packs in Canada
