Club Coffee LP's compostable single serve coffee pod is the 2016 Innovation in Bioplastics Award winner, which is presented by the Society of the Plastics Industry.
The Washington-based SPI said in a news release that the honor is given to a company that applies bioplastics to innovative, purposeful product design. Club Coffee's pods break down fully in typical municipal and industrial composting facilities in as little as five weeks.
“Club Coffee's PurPod 100 is a product that consumers use every day that's made possible through bioplastics. It is the exact kind of science application that our Bioplastics Division is thrilled to recognize through this award,” said Patrick Krieger, assistant director of regulatory and technical affairs at SPI in a statement.
“A simple innovation in design is having a huge impact in the small things we consume daily that impact our carbon footprint,” he added.
Club Coffee, a Toronto-based roaster, worked with researchers at Canada's University of Guelph to develop the product. It was the first product to earn certification by the Biodegradable Products Institute after its abilities were confirmed by tests at composting sites in the U.S. and Canada.
According to Club Coffee, U.S. single serve retail coffee sales grew 319 percent between 2011 and 2015 and offers about $4.6 billion in sales.