Danimer Scientific, Inc., based in Georgia, and French company, TotalEnergies Corbion recently unveiled the development of a new compostable coffee pod biopolymer that complies with EU's packaging regulations proposal, according to a press release.
“Since beginning our collaborative partnership with TotalEnergies Corbion a couple of years ago, we’ve been working to blend together our respective materials, Nodax® and Luminy®, to meet the specific functionality needs of our customers for a variety of applications,” Scott Tuten, chief marketing and sustainability officer of Danimer Scientific, said.
Proposed in late 2022, the recent packaging proposal required plastic packaging, including tea bags and coffee pods, to be dispensable.
Danimer and TotalEnergies’ new coffee pod biopolymer is a combination of Danimer’s polyhydroxyalkanoate Nodax and TotalEnergies Corbion’s Luminy High Heat polylactic acid (PLA) material.
The product has passed biodegradability tests, received certification from TUV as home compostable and is currently undergoing tests by various European companies. According to the biopolymer manufacturer, 550 million pounds of plastic are used in the manufacture of single-use coffee pods per year.
“We support the EU’s proposed new regulations as a necessary first step in addressing the problem of plastic waste, and we’re pleased to be offering our compostable coffee pod biopolymer as one example of how the technology behind bioplastics has evolved to serve the needs of manufacturers, regulators and consumers as the world moves toward a cleaner and more responsible future.”
The new creation serves as an extension of Danimer and TotalEnergies Corbion’s long-term collaboration, which began in 2021 for the supply of Luminy® PLA, a bio-based polymer used to manufacture dispensable products.
In correlation with the development, Danimer Scientific’s chairman and chief executive officer, Stephen Croskrey, rang the closing bell marking the development and the beginning of Earth Week at the New York Stock Exchange on April 17.
“We’re excited about the potential of compostable bioplastics to provide an environmentally friendly alternative to single-use petrochemical plastics, and we hope that the coffee pod biopolymer we’ve developed in partnership with Danimer Scientific will be the first of many collaborations to come,” said Thomas Philipon, CEO of TotalEnergies Corbion.