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About us

The current way we are living is not sustainable. We are extracting resources at a tremendous rate, using them up, and chucking them away mindlessly. This open-loop model is putting our planet under immense strain, and is in need of a serious rethink. Global momentum is beginning to shift towards a new, more circular way of thinking. The Green Ring is an organisation that aspires to be at the forefront of this movement. We are rethinking the way that people look at their waste: where others see rubbish, we see opportunity and value.
 

The Green Ring is a consortium of companies who have redesigned the way we create and dispose of coffee capsules. At present there is a reliance on two non-renewable resources to create coffee capsules: plastics derived from oil and natural gas, and aluminum. Petroleum-based plastics, are the poster boy for an open-loop (cradle-to-grave) lifecycle. They are rarely recycled (around 2% are), and usually end up either stuffed into landfill or incinerated after use.

A similar story

A similar story exists for aluminum, which is created through the extraction and processing of a soft mineral-laden rock called bauxite. This process requires copious amounts of electricity, water and resources, and is associated with significant greenhouse gas emissions. After use, aluminum is either disposed of in landfills (taking around 500 years to decompose), or is incinerated, releasing large amounts of toxic compounds into the air.

But things aren’t all doom and gloom, there is another way. Green Ring coffee capsules are created from compostable plant-based plastics (PLA). This material is cleverly designed to decompose, leaving nothing but healthy biological nutrients, which can be safely returned back into a closed-loop cycle.

This webpage acts as an interactive hub explaining exactly how this process works. Through this platform we aim to provide, as objectively as possible, the current perspective on compostable coffee capsules. We want to fuel the debate, and ignite a conversation around this topic. As well as an information source, The Green Ring is a hallmark which signals to a consumer that the coffee capsule they are using is made from 100% compostable plant-based plastics.