AUSTRALIA | Grinders Coffee announced that its takeaway coffee cups are now certified for home composting, making them sustainably easier to enjoy.
Since 2023, Grinders Coffee has pioneered the rollout of Aqueous Cups, a takeaway coffee cup with a unique, water-based barrier coating that has allowed the cup to maintain its shape when holding liquid, eliminating the need for a separate polyethylene (PE) plastic lining.
Initially certified for industrial composting, the Aqueous Coffee Cups have received certification for home composting, following thorough testing and approval by the Australasian Bioplastics Association.
“We are proud to be one of the first commercial roasters in Australia to launch these innovative cups nationally,” said Burcu De La Cruz, Marketing Manager for Grinders Coffee.
“Businesses who use Grinders Coffee beans can now provide a certified compostable solution to takeaway coffee cups, a packaging type that has historically contained plastic.”
Home composting certification means that under specific conditions, the cups can disintegrate and biodegrade into C02, water, and biomass within 12 months at 25oc +/—5oc, leaving no harmful residue and reducing the levels of waste in landfills.
The cups have been paired with Grinders Pulp Lids, made from sugarcane pulp (or ‘Bagasse’), a plant-based, renewable alternative to the standard plastic lid.
Grinders Coffee has a series of ambitious sustainability commitments. These include:
- Recyclable Packaging by 2025: Grinders Coffee will make all its packaging 100 percent recyclable by 2025, reducing waste and contributing to a circular economy.
- Reaching Net Zero Carbon Emissions: Grinders aims to decarbonise its business and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, taking steps to ensure a healthier environment for generations to come.
- Ethically Certified Coffee Beans by 2030: By 2030, 100 percent of its coffee beans will be ethically certified, ensuring sustainability, human rights, and ethical practices in every bean it brews.
- Turning Coffee Waste into Resources: Its partnership with Reground has kept over 16 tonnes of coffee grounds out of landfills, using them as compost in community gardens and at the Melbourne Zoo. This initiative has already reduced more than three tonnes of greenhouse gases.
- Supporting Local Coffee Growers: Grinders is proud to support single-origin communities like the female coffee producers in Honduras, helping them build a micro-roastery and ensuring sustainable farming practices.
- Compostable Cups and Lids: All of its takeaway cups, including its pulp-based lids, are fully compostable, making it easy to enjoy coffee more sustainably.
“Brewing a greener future with Grinders Coffee is one of our most important business pillars. From innovative packaging to supporting ethical farming, it is dedicated to ensuring a better future for both coffee lovers and the planet.”
