Exciting News! New Recyclable Packaging

It's finally here, our new Willie packaging! Recyclable.

Unfortunately there is a whole lot of confusion in the world of eco packaging. If you look carefully at the base/side of many coffee bags, they often aren't completely recyclable, or compostable. You may need to remove a valve, a zip or use a specialised facility to get these to where they want to be. Confusing? Yeah, we find it confusing too. 

Because we really care about where our packaging goes we've done a whole lot of homework, a huge amount of testing, and had about 138 phone calls to get these new, sexy, RECYCLABLE bags! 

For our OG Willie fans, you might remember our earliest packaging, our recyclable boxes? While we loved our boxes we found they didn't hold up as well as we'd have liked in the Queensland humidity. We also wanted something a little more robust so went on a (long) journey to find our tubs. While we've loved our tubs so much, we have unfortunately hit a sticky point with sourcing. Yep, ugh. 

We're so stoked you've all come along with us on our journey to be as sustainable as we can be. Help us welcome our new RECYCLABLE bags!

Some common questions:

What are the bags made of?
85% paper with a thin plastic lining that allows them to be sealed and food safe.

Are they recyclable?
Yes, these are PAPER recyclable, so you can put these out with the the rest of your curbside paper recycling. Yellow top for the win. 

Are they compostable?
No. For those who have been with us on our green journey, we started out with compostable bags inside a compostable (and reusable) box. Unfortunately these had some issues with breaking down in our delicious Queensland humidity, and then to make matters worse, the only bag supplier we were happy with (queue the greenwashing of the world, we do our homework!) burnt down in an unfortunate factory fire. Unbelievable really. Oh, also this was overseas, at that point in time we couldn't souce anything that worked for our product on our shores. Double unbelievable! 

Do you need to remove the label before recycling the bag?
No, our labels are now made from paper too, which means they can go into the recycling with the bag. Say what!

What about the plastic lining?
The plastic lining component has a special additive, which allows it to enter the standard paper recycling system. From there, the two are separated and processed individually. This lining allows the bag to seal and be food safe, important for you, us, and the food safety inspector. 

Why are the bags not resealable, where's the zip lock? 
We're all making leaps and bounds with this technology (see journey above) and there's still no paper ziplock option. I mean, that would be pretty cool right? Anyway for now it's time to use your tubs, get hold of a sweet Airscape or use a fancy rainbow peg to keep your kitchen looking sauve. 

What do I do with my Willie tub? I'm a hoarder, I've got 5 in the garage! 

You can hand them back to us, keep them for bongo drums, storage, pantry provisions or any other incredible ways to reuse! We'll be posting some fun ideas, or if you have some ideas for us... get in touch :)