Recycling Information
We are taking small, thoughtful steps every day to reach our sustainability goals and being a force for good in the coffee industry.
Customers can bring all types of Ozone Coffee bags to our eateries in Shoreditch and London Fields for recycling - it doesn't matter if it was purchased online, at your local cafe, or from one of our eateries.
We have received various questions on recycling. Below are answers to some of the most common questions.
Q. What can I do with my used Nespresso® Compatible coffee pods?
A. Our coffee pods are 100% plastic-free capsules and can be added to your food-waste for composting in commercial facilities. Check with your local council on their food-waste compost and collection guidelines. If your local council does not accept in your food waste collection, they will break down naturally as compost in your usual waste collection.
Q. Can your mailers be recycled?
A. Our mailers and postcards are made from FSC-certified recycled wood pulp that’s both compostable and recyclable.
Q. Can your boxes be recycled?
A. Yes. We send larger orders in cardboard boxes made from FSC-certified materials and sealed with paper packing tape.
Q. Can your bags be recycled?
A. No, even better, they can be commercially composted! Our 250g web order coffee bags are 100% commercially compostable. You can also send them back to us and we’ll sort the commercial composting of them for you. If you purchased a bag of coffee from one of our eateries or a coffee shop, you can send your bag to us for recycling or drop off at our eateries.
Q. Why commercially compostable rather than recyclable?
A. Recycling is a vital step towards a circular economy. But it’s crucial that recycling be kept uncontaminated from organic matter so that they don’t end up in a landfill after it’s put in your recycling bin.
Q. How long will your commercially compostable coffee bags take to break down?
The time it takes a product to biodegrade depends on the conditions of the composting environment. Industrial or commercial compost facilities run at higher temperatures than home composting environments and certification protocol requires materials to biodegrade within six months.
Q. Where can I send used coffee bags to be recycled?
A. Please post them to us and we will recycle them for you.
Our address is: Recycling, Ozone Coffee Roasters, 8 Pritchard's Road, London, E2 9AP
Further information about our packaging materials:
FSC Certified Paper & Cardboard
We only use FSC certified paper and cardboard to ensure our paper materials come from responsibly managed forests. Our wholesale and customer orders arrive safely, packaged with repurposed cardboard and shredded waste paper from our roastery to protect your order from any knocks or bangs in the post.
Waste Plastic
Waste plastic, including bottles or containers used in our eateries and roastery, are collected on foot by the Re=Comb team in Hackney, who turn it into stylish hair combs!
Reused Packing Materials
We occasionally reuse packaging materials sent to us by other suppliers. If you receive any upcycled packaging materials like empty coffee sacks with your order, we encourage you to please try and reuse them yourself too.
Coffee Sacks
If you'd like an empty coffee sack, please contact support@ozonecoffee.co.uk. We have previously donated coffee sacks to local animal shelters, zoos and local community projects for arts and crafts and we love giving these sacks to new homes!
More information about commercial composting
Our coffee bags biodegrade under industrial composting conditions into organic biomass.
Industrially compostable products and materials are designed to completely biodegrade in a commercial compost environment, at elevated temperatures and alongside microbial activity, within six months.
The generally accepted difference between home and commercial composting is the temperature at which they operate. A home compost is estimated to have an average 30C where commercial systems generally run 60C and above. There are currently three main certification standards for Industrial (or commercial) compostability:
- American Standard - ASTM 6400
- European Standard - EN 13432
- Australian Standard AS 4736
All of the testing procedures for commercial compostability follow the same criteria and as such there is one common logo which is often used as something of an international recognition of a product or material being certified for commercial or industrial composting - the Seedling.
All commercial compostability certifications require that the product/material pass two central tests:
- Biodegradation: Requires a material to disintegrate after 90 days and completely biodegrade after 180 days. That means that 90 percent or more of the bioplastic material will have been converted to CO2. The remaining share is converted into water and biomass (compost)
- Chemical Characterization - this tests that the product leaves no harmful or chemical residues as part of the process
In addition to the above, the Australasian Standard (where our packaging manufacturer, Grounded Packing are from) has one further test:
- Eco-toxicity - this test is to ensure that the compost created supports a healthy soil and the primary test here is in relation to the worm population of the soil.