Edmonton’s Transcend Coffee Introduces Fully Biodegradable Bags

Edmonton, Alberta-based Transcend Coffee has introduced retail coffee bags composed of biodegradable material that will degrade in backyard composts, landfills and natural water bodies, the company says.

The bag film was developed in a partnership with TekPak Solutions in Hamilton, Ontario, and the bags are being produced in the United States and Canada. Despite their biodegradability, the bags are sealable, shelf-stable and contain a one-way valve.

Here’s more from Transcend on some of the research behind the bags:

Case Western University in Cleveland conducted a five-year study on this product to test claims of biodegradability as well as possible side effects to delicate plants and insects and found no harm even at high doses 50 times normal. The film does not depend on water, heat, sunlight or oxygen to degrade. It only reacts with the ever-present microbes in soil or water, making it even more degradable than other products labeled as biodegradable. For this reason, TekPak calls the product “Omnidegradable” The European Union’s Committee on Sustainable Plastics commissioned a study on sustainable films and called this product “the only viable solution available today.”

Transcend, which operates three cafes in Edmonton in addition to its roasting operation, used the new packaging to also give consumers more information about their coffees. The label features a taste index, identifying characteristics related to levels of acidity, body and complexity of the coffee in the bag.