Our coffee bags
Impact
At b3 coffee, every decision we make is guided by our values of quality, community and both environmental and people sustainability. We have spent the past 12 months researching, working with packaging partner ‘Grounded’ and designing new packaging for our beans to align with these values. We would like to share what we have learnt and help you to know how best to deal with the product at the end of its life with you.
Why we changed our packaging
Coffee packaging has traditionally been difficult to recycle, normally ending up in landfill and being made from virgin materials. We wanted to do better. That’s why we’ve transitioned to Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) recyclable bags (made up of approximately 70% post-consumer recycled material). By choosing PCR materials, we’re giving plastics that have already been used and recycled a second life. This reduces the demand for virgin plastic, lowers energy use, and helps cut down on waste.
In most cases, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) confirms that PCR recycled plastics have a lower overall environmental footprint due to the significant carbon savings achieved by utilizing waste inputs.
Recyclable, Reliable, Responsible
Our new bags are fully recyclable through LDPE #4 recycling programs. Once you’ve enjoyed every last cup, the packaging can go back into the recycling stream instead of the bin. Together, we can help close the loop and keep valuable materials in use for longer. Everyone involved in the supply chain (manufacturer, us and you) holds responsibility to ensure the potential benefits of this bag are achieved so we are offering a small discount off of your next purchase if you return the bag to us in-store. We have access to a LDPE recycling program where we can ensure the bags enter their recycling circular economy rather than going to landfill that will be their end-of-life to turn into biogenic carbon over many many years.
If you have access to a soft plastic recycling program, that’s awesome, but we know it has been hard to access these programs in the past. This is progressively becoming more available again as the market catches up to the move towards more sustainable practices.
Why Not Compostable (For Now)?
We explored compostable options — but after careful consideration, we decided they weren’t the right choice for us at this moment. While compostable sounds like the perfect solution, many of the current options come with challenges:
- - Higher carbon footprint than PCR bags during production.
- - Shorter shelf life, we would struggle to make it through a MOQ before the bags have degraded.
- - Lower material strength, making them less reliable for shipping and storage.
- - sadly only 3-5% of compostable packaging accross australia makes it to the correct composting pathway for circularity.
Until the technology improves or our situation changes, we believe PCR recyclable bags strike the best balance: strong enough to protect quality, widely recyclable, and lower in carbon impact.
Sustainable choices aren’t straight forward but we will do the best we can with the tools that we have. For us, this change is about taking responsibility for the impact we have beyond the cup. For you, it’s as simple as enjoying your coffee and recycling in a LDPE program or returning the bag to us when you’re done. Every sip counts. Every choice counts. And we’re proud to be making ours count for the planet.