Compostable bioplastics for single-use coffee pods

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G-PAK Technology Inc. ('G-PAK') is a privately held company based in Surrey, BC that develops compostable**single-use coffee pods based on entirely bio-based materials. While single-serve coffee pods based on the**Keurig 'K-Cup' have exploded in popularity in the last decade, the resulting non-biodegradable plastic waste**generated from this industry has been staggering. Over 9 billion polystyrene cups are currently sold worldwide**every year, enough to circle the globe 11 times if placed end-to end. Furthermore, coffee pods take more than**500 years to break down in soil, creating an enormous environmental burden which continues to grow (in**Canada, one in five households now report owning a single-serve Keurig machine). G-PAK seeks to address**this problem through the development of coffee pods which are fully compostable after being used.**Unfortunately, common bioplastics such as those used by G-PAK suffer from increased oxygen permeability**relative to commercial polystyrene, reducing the shelf-life of the coffee stored in this way. By partnering with**Prof. Zachary Hudson's laboratory at the University of British Columbia, G-PAK intends to develop**compostable plastics sourced from entirely bio-based materials with the necessary oxygen permeability to**maintain the required flavour of the coffee from the distributor to the consumer. This project aims to create**environmentally friendly materials suitable for use in food packaging for the environmentally-conscious**consumer, with potential applications in many kinds of food packaging where non-recyclable plastics are**currently the industry standard. Both polymer synthesis and sustainable chemistry are key aspects of Prof.**Hudson's research program, and his expertise will complement the experience in bioplastics of G-PAK's team.