Despite compostable bioplastics being popular with new brands, their viability was “a hotly-debated area”, John Farrer & Co general manager Dave Walsh told Food Manufacture.
“The movement to reduce traditional plastics pushed us away from that option,” he said. “With compostable bioplastics, they tend to be packed in an outer bag, which provides the gas barrier.”
These biopolymers have the advantage that they can be composted with the used coffee grounds still inside them. But the Cumbrian company said that using aluminium for its Nespresso-compatible capsules inside a board outer was the least complex, and most easily recycled, combination.
“There is also a debate about just how readily compostable ‘compostable’ capsules really are,” Walsh added.
