Heywood paper mill creates 100% biodegradable tea and coffee paper

The new compostable paper – ‘Puri Seal Green’ – has been produced by Union Papertech

A Heywood paper mill has manufactured an innovative line of 100% biodegradable filter paper to reduce microplastic pollution.

The new compostable paper – ‘Puri Seal Green’ – has been produced by Union Papertech, the UK’s leading supplier of filtration paper to the tea and coffee industry, and is 100% biodegradable.

It uses corn starch and vegetable sugars, replacing plastics in heat-sealable filter papers used in tea bags and various coffee capsules.

Plastic, specifically polypropylene, is typically used to seal paper teabags during manufacturing, so they don’t open. However, it is not compostable and breaks down into smaller microplastic fragments.

Chris Law, Sales and Marketing Manager said: “We’re delighted to offer a solution to microplastic pollution to our customers and ultimately end consumers.

“We’ve taken our time to ensure this development offers the same great qualities of regular heat seal paper, without asking our customers to compromise on quality or make cost intensive changes to their infrastructure.”

Throughout extensive product trials, Puri Seal Green has proven to have strong seal strength with no impact on taste or quality and is free of genetically-modified organisms.

The paper will be officially launched on Monday (20 May).