The vast majority of single-use coffee cups that flow from coffee shops to waste streams today include a thin, oil-derived polyethylene lining designed to protect paper cups from degrading when in contact with hot liquids. Thus, coffee cups are typically not compostable. The Phade cup responds to that issue through the use of a bioplastic formulation known as PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate), which is derived from the fermentation of canola oil. Although some other brands currently market compostable coffee cups, the Phade line represents a first-to-market application of PHA in hot liquid cups, according to WinCup. “The cups are home compostable and industrial compostable, and that is based on initial independent laboratory testing,” WinCup CEO Brad Laporte told DCN.

Source: Ethiopian News May 01, 2023 14:09 UTC