A Toronto company worked with scientists in Guelph, Ont. to create a compostable coffee pod prototype that could put an end to the environmental cost of single-serve coffee makers.
Single-serve machines are convenient and fast, but the coffee pods can't be recycled, so they end up in landfills. Each year, North Americans throw out 10 billion coffee pods.
The number of pods thrown out last year would form a chain that could circle the Earth 10 times, CTV Toronto consumer reporter Pat Foran said.
Etobicoke-based Club Coffee roasts and packages its own varieties of coffee, and developed a pod with 35 per cent less plastic in 2012.
Their soft coffee pod is recyclable, according to Club Coffee's website, but the plastic doesn't break down into organic materials.
To make a compostable product, Club Coffee teamed up with scientists at the University of Guelph who studied materials that can break down into organic material.
Together, they came up with a product that will break down completely, offering nutrients to the soil and plants around it, Club Coffee says.
In early 2015, Club Coffee will introduce the world's first compostable pod, which can go straight into users' green bins.
"What we have done is built a 100 per cent compostable pod," Club Coffee president Peter Hobbes told CTV Toronto.
The company still has to work out details with manufacturers of single-serve coffee makers, but Hobbes said he plans to make the pods available for all brands of machines.
He said he hopes the products will be available for the same cost as existing coffee pods.
Single-serve machines are convenient and fast, but the coffee pods can't be recycled, so they end up in landfills. Each year, North Americans throw out 10 billion coffee pods.
The number of pods thrown out last year would form a chain that could circle the Earth 10 times, CTV Toronto consumer reporter Pat Foran said.
Etobicoke-based Club Coffee roasts and packages its own varieties of coffee, and developed a pod with 35 per cent less plastic in 2012.
Their soft coffee pod is recyclable, according to Club Coffee's website, but the plastic doesn't break down into organic materials.
To make a compostable product, Club Coffee teamed up with scientists at the University of Guelph who studied materials that can break down into organic material.
Together, they came up with a product that will break down completely, offering nutrients to the soil and plants around it, Club Coffee says.
In early 2015, Club Coffee will introduce the world's first compostable pod, which can go straight into users' green bins.
"What we have done is built a 100 per cent compostable pod," Club Coffee president Peter Hobbes told CTV Toronto.
The company still has to work out details with manufacturers of single-serve coffee makers, but Hobbes said he plans to make the pods available for all brands of machines.
He said he hopes the products will be available for the same cost as existing coffee pods.
With files from CTV Toronto's Pat Foran
