The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of June 28th, 2018

#1 Cali company launches compostable coffee cups

In California, World Centric is producing compostable coffee cups from sugarcane fiber, a byproduct of the sugarcane extraction process. Coffee cups have been a particularly tricky for companies looking to improve the environmental profile of single-use, to-go containers.

“We wanted to move away from incumbent materials,” Mark Marinozzi, vice president of marketing for World Centric told The Dieline. “Wood-based materials and petroleum-based materials aren’t ultimately renewable.”

Dubbed NoTree, the packaging is not, however, recyclable. But the company says its products are a good alternative for businesses that have composting bins on site. One important thing to note about NoTree packaging is that it is compostable but not recyclable, which could be a drawback for consumers. Still, it’s an important step for sustainable products and could be a great draw for businesses that already have compost bins at their locations.