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Our TekPak Omnidegradable Bags and Seven Coffee's Sustainability Goals
Seven Coffee Roasters partners with TekPak Solutions to use their Omnidegradable packaging for our line of Seven Specialty Coffees. Combining this with our Carbonfund.org offsets and our EnviroStars Membership, we’re really excited to take our sustainability efforts to the next level.
Below you'll find some more info about our bags. We keep this page updated from time to time to address customer questions and concerns.
Why TekPak?
Our most important criteria for our bags is that they don't end up polluting our soil, rivers, oceans, and forests. TekPak’s packaging is made of materials that decompose wherever there are naturally-occurring microbes, which means they can degrade almost anywhere, and they decompose much quicker than traditional plastic packaging. They're also different from other packaging because they don't need things like heat or sunlight to break down, and you don't have to take out pieces, like a valve or a zipper, before disposing.
We also like that TekPak has a strong track record in the coffee industry. Many other coffee companies use their packaging, such as Melitta and Dean’s Beans.
What Makes Them Unique
According to TekPak, they add an organic additive to their omnidegradable materials that attracts microbes, creating an enzyme that can break down the bag's long-chain molecules into pieces. These pieces become small enough for microbes to consume.
So, given enough time, these bags can break down in a home compost where microbes are present. In a very worst-case scenario, if they are thrown into the trash and end up in a landfill, they can biodegrade into water, CO2, and organic biomass.
If you have a municipal composting facility near you, we recommend reaching out to them to confirm that they can receive and compost TekPak bags.
For more information please visit TekPak’s FAQ. We also found this article on Tiny Eco Home Life to be very informative.
Are They Sealed?
Yes, unlike our previous bags, our TekPak bags for Seven Coffees are sealed at the roaster to preserve the maximum freshness. On top of that, they have a valve designed to let out Carbon Dioxide, which coffee releases after its roasted. It does this while also keeping oxygen out. This one-way vent helps keep your coffee even fresher while shipping. The bags are also designed to block sunlight, which can make your coffee go stale.
Are They Re-Sealable?
Unfortunately, we're sorry to say that they aren't re-sealable. It's definitely less convenient than we wanted. However, we made a calculation when we were researching and choosing this particular bag material. We wanted a bag that's the best in terms of being compostable and biodegradable, and we went with the company that could provide us with that.
Ultimately, we decided not to add a way of resealing the bag, thinking that at home, people may have other containers or items such as rubber bands, bag clips or various other methods that would make it possible to reseal.
Check out our simple and cost-effective method to store coffee in re-usable containers.
We Understand They Are A Bit Difficult to Open
We also know that when opening our bags, they can rip unevenly and cause beans to spill out. It's not ideal. If this has happened to you, we apologize. Again, we were looking for the best possible bag for what we wanted to accomplish, and we had to make some trade-offs. We suggest using a pair of scissors to open your bag next time.