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Barrier, compost and the gap between them
Frogwise Editorial · 7 min read · Reviewed 2026-08-01
Coffee packaging has to do three things: keep oxygen out, let CO₂ escape, and eventually go somewhere.
The barrier problem
Ground coffee stales in days without a barrier. That barrier is usually aluminium or a metallised polymer — both excellent, both hard to recycle in a multi-layer laminate.
Compostable is a system, not a material
Most certified compostable bags meet EN 13432, which describes industrial composting at sustained high temperature. Very few municipalities accept them, and almost no garden heap reaches those conditions. Saying "compostable" without saying "industrially" is greenwashing.
Mono-material is the quiet winner
A single-polymer PE or PP bag with an EVOH barrier is recyclable in a growing number of streams and performs close to laminate.
Practical advice
Buy smaller bags more often. Print the disposal route on the bag. Be specific about where it goes.
Frequently asked
- Are paper bags better?
- Only with a liner, and the liner determines the recycling route.
- packaging
- coffee
- greenwashing
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