Moving Beans came along when a coffee fan talked to a researcher to deliver the incomparable naturally degradable Nespresso-compatible coffee pods which preserve the flavour of the coffee. The capsules are hundred percent eco-friendly and can be safely thrown away with organic waste.

We have naturally more articles on coffee, coffee pods and compostable coffee pods under Coffee Pods Review. Other educational posts on plastic-free coffee capsules are for instance from leading media publishers, or Moving Beans or other sources. Also, digest our Compostable Coffee Pods and Sustainability Article.

We are frequently being asked what bioplastics are, or what is the significance of a product being eco-friendly or compostable? Is there any relationship in between bioplastics and biodegradability? How should we consumers handle these items? In this blog, we try to break down these ideas through simple descriptions that will hopefully help you much better comprehend their meaning and be more aware of the options you are taking as a consumer. Let's go step by step:

BIOPLASTICS.

These are materials that are either stemmed from biomass (e.g. plants, such as corn or sugarcane) or are eco-friendly; or certainly feature both properties. They differ from conventional plastics in that the latter are made from fossil oil (petrol).

The benefits of using renewable materials to produce bioplastics are: boost in resource effectiveness (e.g. use of biomass for various functions), reduction of the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions (those that considerably add to environment change); and conserving fossil resources by slowly replacing them.

BIODEGRADABLE.

Biodegradation is a procedure - a chemical process - throughout which microorganisms that are offered in the environment transform products into natural substances such as water, co2, and garden compost (artificial additives are not required).

The procedure of biodegradation depends on the surrounding environmental conditions (e.g. area or temperature), on the products included and on the process itself. This procedure can take short time periods (weeks and months) or long periods of time (tens or even hundreds of years). The residential or commercial property of biodegradation does not depend upon the source product of the item but is rather connected to its chemical structure. It is for that reason essential to comprehend that 'Bio-based' does not indicate 'naturally degradable'. To put it simply, plastic items made from biomass (a kind of bioplastic) are not always biodegradable. On the other hand, some petrol-based plastics might be naturally degradable. The household of bioplastics can be divided into three main groups:

• bio-based (or partly bio-based) but non-biodegradable plastics (e.g. PE, PP, PET, PTT or TPC-ET);.

• plastics that are both bio-based and eco-friendly (e.g. PLA, PHA or PBS);.

• petrol-based plastics that are eco-friendly (e.g. PBAT).

COMPOSTABLE.

Composting is likewise a procedure-- a chemical procedure.

It is the process of biodegradation under aerobic conditions (presence of complimentary oxygen) within a time frame of 6-12 weeks. There are two methods to perform this process: industrially or home-compost. Industrially compostable conditions are extremely specific and they have actually been specified under the European norm EN 13432 for packaging products and embraced by the British Standard Institution under BS EN 13432 standard. Just those packaging items that satisfy the stringent criteria of the EN 13432 standard are approved with the accreditation of OK-Compost Industrial and can be unambiguously thought about industrially compostable.

In practice, this means that you can dispose this material, including compostable coffee pods, in your natural waste bin for it to be sent to the closest commercial composting center. Home-compostable product packaging rather is not covered under one single widely-known standard but rather within a number of country-based ones. Due to the fact that the conditions in a home-compost are not that controllable as in the case of an industrial garden compost, this is.

Under home-composting condition temperatures and humidity can differ significantly from location to place, and year on year, not constantly attaining the right decay in an affordable timeframe.

Nowadays, however, society and specialists in the field see the need for moving into this direction if we wish to become more sustainable. That is why we might see extremely intriguing advancements and innovations in this home-composability area in the following years.

One of the start-ups we really love is Moving Beans who have been providing compostable coffee pods for several years, with more info under https://www.movingbeans.com/collections/all. They were one of the first to provide truly aluminium-free Nespresso coffee pods.