Compostable bioplastics for single-use coffee pods

G-PAK Technology Inc.（“G-PAK”）是一家位于不列颠哥伦比亚省萨里的私人控股公司，开发完全基于生物基材料的可堆肥一次性咖啡胶囊。在过去的十年里，以Keurig“k杯”为基础的单杯咖啡胶囊大受欢迎，但由此产生的不可生物降解的塑料垃圾也令人震惊。目前全球每年销售的聚苯乙烯杯超过90亿个，如果首尾相连，足够绕地球11圈。此外，咖啡豆荚需要500多年才能在土壤中分解，造成了巨大的环境负担，而且这种负担还在继续增长（在加拿大，现在有五分之一的家庭拥有单杯咖啡机）。G-PAK寻求通过开发使用后完全可堆肥的咖啡豆荚来解决**这个问题。**不幸的是，与商用聚苯乙烯相比，G-PAK使用的普通生物塑料具有更高的透氧性**，从而减少了以这种方式储存的咖啡的保质期。通过与**教授合作。在不列颠哥伦比亚大学扎卡里·哈德森的实验室里，G-PAK打算开发一种可降解塑料，这种塑料完全来自生物基材料，具有必要的氧气渗透性，以保持咖啡从经销商到消费者所需要的味道。该项目旨在为具有环保意识的**消费者创造适合**食品包装的**环保材料，在目前**不可回收塑料为行业标准的多种食品包装中具有潜在的应用前景。高分子合成和可持续化学都是哈德森教授研究项目的关键方面，他的专业知识将补充G-PAK团队在生物塑料方面的经验。

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.