Sustainability at Sublime Coffee Roasters

Here at Sublime, we take as many small (and some large!) steps as we can towards sustainable business practices to try and reduce the impact of our business on the environment. It’s an intentional choice we make when sourcing compostable bags, cups and lids, right down to our toilet paper!

COMPOSTABLE CUPS AND LIDS 

FROM CAPPUCCINOS TO COMPOST!
Our takeaway cups and lids are fully compostable. We have partnered with Ecoware Food Packaging who have educated and cheered us on from the start. 

Our cups are bioplastic - they are made from plastic materials produced from renewable sources such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw and wood chips. The ink used in the artwork is also soy-based, so it's non-toxic. 

For over 18 months we trialled ways to successfully compost the cups and lids accumulated from our Haven Road store. Finally, we found a proven method of composting and a robust system to successfully divert all compostable cups and lids which have been returned to our Haven Road and Palmerston North espresso bars. The compost in Nelson is sold through Greenwaste to Zero and in Palmerston North it is distributed over the community gardens. At last count, we are diverting approximately 5,000 cups and lids from landfill each month! Yahoo! 

Our system works seamlessly now but it hasn’t always been an easy journey. Finding the right people, who shared the same sustainable visions to partner with was key. Thank you Ecoware Food Packaging for your endless support and guidance. Thank you Envirowaste Nelson for sharing the vision and getting the cups and lids to where they needed to go. Thank you Greenwaste to Zero for your patience and persistence in helping us achieve our goals. Thank you Palmy Proud for being awesome from the beginning. But above all, none of this would have been possible without our fantastic crew and customers getting on board, returning and sorting the packaging. Without your efforts on the frontline, none of this would have been possible. Keep it up guys!

This is just one of the many steps we are taking to make a positive change. We also encourage our customers to bring their own cups by offering discounts for reusable cups. We have our own cup library and are part of the Nelson CupCycling Scheme. 

 

COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING

Supermarket bags

We have worked super hard to bring you 100% compostable coffee bags - this includes the bag, valve and inks!! 

The valve used in the bag is a WICOVALVE ® W606E which has been developed for the Coffee Industry and is totally biodegradable. The inks used are made from 100% natural ingredients including soy, starch, sugars, dextrin, tree resin, cellulose and other polysaccharides and are from sustainable, non-polluting resources. These inks have been tested and analysed and have been found not to interfere with compostability.

Kilo bags

These bags are lined with Polylactic Acid (PLA) Film – PLA is starch from plants. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a natural starch derived from plants like corn and sugarcane that is processed to create a clear plastic-like film or bioplastic. Unlike the traditional polyethylene (PE) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics, these innovative films and bioplastics are annually renewable, naturally biodegradable and compostable.

Our kilo bags are compostable in commercial composting facilities once the tin-tie has been removed.

We are currently conducting a home compost project. Look out for photos coming soon! 

 

COFFEE GRINDS, HUSK AND COFFEE SACK RECYCLING

We are conscious of the by products that are created in our roasting process. Nothing goes to waste! 

The coffee sacks that house the green beans until they hit our roaster are sold out of our Brew Bar & Roastery for a koha. We love seeing how our customers repurpose them! They are often transformed into cushions, hats and carry bags. 

The coffee husk from the roasting process and the coffee grinds from our espresso bars are left outside our stores and given away to our customers. They make great mulch for the garden and are excellent at keeping pests away from your veggie plants. 

 

OAKLANDS MILK 

Across our Nelson stores we are lucky to use Oaklands A2 milk. This milk comes from happy cows, fresh from the local farm and is gentler on tummies! Oaklands milk comes in glass bottles - which we rinse and return to Oaklands so they can be reused again and again and again - no plastic!  

We’re working on finding an organic milk supplier for our Palmy store… watch this space.

 

FOOD WASTE

We are proud to have partnered with Community Compost in Nelson. Each week they collect our food waste and compost it. We love to support local businesses who share the same values we have of looking after our planet.