The countdown is on again and we’re starting to feel the ‘AeroPressure’! Prepare to escape the daily grind and get highly caffeinated at the 2018 AeroPress Championship.

The World AeroPress Championship began in Oslo, as the brainchild of one of the industry’s biggest characters and a few coffee-minded friends sitting around in his coffee shop back in 2008. It is now a highly regarded international competition in its own right and holds a fiercely independent place on the global coffee calendar.

The journey to crowning our next Australian AeroPress Champion begins at the end of this month, starting with Canberra, and hitting all six states. For a full list of all events, head to http://aero.press/2018-events and add them to your calendar.

Queensland! Hope you’re ready!

This year, the Queensland Championship will be held on Wednesday 15th August and the team behind Wolff Coffee Roasters is making it possible again, right from their awesome Roasting Warehouse in Hendra, Brisbane.

With sensational coffee pouring all-day, August 15th is set to keep Brisbanites sipping from 3pm to 8.30pm. Why not come and relax with an espresso martini in hand while watching the baristas battle it out for the title of Queensland Champion.

Competitors and spectators tickets are now on sale! Head to www.wolffcoffeeroasters.com.au/qldaerochamps to grab yours now!

Entry is free but you will have to pay $10 to watch the AeroPress Championship. All proceeds from this event go towards Women’s Legal Aid. Spaces are limited to 35 competitors, so make sure you click the link above to secure your spot.

The greatest brewer will then go on to represent Queensland at the Australian AeroPress Championship, on September 18th, in Melbourne. As per past editions, the national winner gets the opportunity to compete in the World finals, taking place in November in Sydney, Australia.

For further information, visit www.worldaeropresschampionship.com

Eco-friendly packaging for AeroPress Championship

Castaway Food Packaging has gladly renewed their partnership with Wolff Coffee Roasters and return as a sponsor of 2018 Regional AeroPress Championship for the second consecutive year.

Castaway Food Packaging wanted to contribute to Wolff Coffee Roasters and the World AeroPress Championship goal of having lower environmental footprint for the event to-date.

As a sustainable organisation, we are committed to providing Australian consumers with sustainable packaging solutions. Becoming an official supplier of the event, Castaway® will be providing:

• 6 oz single wall coffee cups, from our New Creative Collection to serve brew in
• And Eco-Smart® biodegradable beer cups

a) Creative Collection single wall coffee cups

Like the majority of Castaway® coffee cups, the Creative Collection range is Australian made and contains paper sourced from sustainably managed forests, so they are easily recyclable. To see the full range, please click here.

There are many things to think about when choosing which type of coffee cup to serve your brew in:

• Serving temperatures,
• Insulating properties,
• Surface texture and feel,
• Custom printing options,
• and which cup sizes you want to offer.

To help point you in the right direction, we have explained the key difference between our four cup ranges in this handy guide:

https://castaway.com.au/packages/paper-coffee-cups-compare

b) Eco-Smart® beer cups

Sustainability in coffee packaging

Castaway Food Packaging is dedicated to bringing innovative and sustainable packaging solutions, thereby assisting our customers to meet their own targets and environmental goals.

So it seems only fitting that we would partner with parallel industry leaders – like the World AeroPress Championship, who embraces different trends and extraction methods while faithfully pioneering coffee excellence.

For more information on our range please head to castaway.com.au or email enquiries@mpmmarketing.com.au

*Eco-Smart® polypropylene cups have been shown to biodegrade 46.9% after 2.13 years, under conditions that simulate a wetter biologically active landfill, using the ASTM D5511 standard test. Note that a stated rate of degradation does not mean the product will continue to decompose. Testing continues on all Eco-Smart® products to track the rate of biodegradation. All data will be made available on our website: castaway.com.au

Several IGA Supermarkets throughout Australia are now trialling the new Castaway® recyclable plastic meat trays. Made from recycled bottles, they represent a new innovation for sustainable packaging. Look out for them on the shelves!

Aqua Cell® trays provide an environmentally-friendly viable alternative to the non-recyclable polystyrene (foam) trays that are currently used extensively throughout Australia.

Millions of polystyrene foam trays are sent to landfill each year, with severely limited options for resource recovery and recycling. Up until now, there hasn’t been a comparable alternative to the polystyrene foam tray that can fit into existing recycling streams.

Determined to make sustainable shopping a norm, Atherton Supa IGA has adopted the new Aqua Cell® trays which are designed to prevent liquid spillage, as an alternative to foam trays. Pictured is Meat Department Manager Mick Irving and Store Manager Tim Oliver.  Image source: Narelle Vidler

To ensure that consumers are educated about the trays, Castaway® has provided in-store promotional material to communicate the recyclability and appropriate disposal.

NEW Aqua Cell® Meat Trays are made from 100% recycled material and are accepted by nearly every kerbside recycling scheme in Australia. Unlike foam trays, they are made from a minimum of 60% recycled plastic and are 100% recyclable after use.

Recycling the trays is easy. The user simply rinses the tray under the tap and places in the recycling bin, as with most other recyclable packaging. The trays significantly reduce the amount of waste going to landfill each year.

Designed to fit into Australia’s existing recycling streams, customers can be assured that the trays are able to be recycled. The recyclable meat trays provide a sustainable alternative to foam trays and are part of our ongoing commitment to provide sustainable and local packaging solutions for our customers.

Aqua Cell® Story

Check out the full range of Aqua Cell® Meat Trays.

View and download brochure

View The Tablelander full article

Check your pizza box size.

No-one wants to lift the lid and see a pizza that looks too small! Check that you have the perfect diameter box for the portion sizes you make in-store. It will help prevent the pizza from sliding around in the box during transport and guarantees excellent presentation when the customer lifts the lid.

Optimise pizza temperatures.

With a large portion of customers wanting their pizzas delivered, keeping a pizza hot is essential. There are several factors to consider, from improving delivery efficiency, to the use of insulated warmer bags. But have you thought about the box itself? The material and design used to make a box can greatly affect its performance. With testing undertaken by CSIRO, pizza boxes from Castaway® have been shown to keep pizza 14% hotter over a 30-minute period compared to standard pizza boxes*.

Custom brand your pizza box.

Custom branding your packaging is a great way to grow market share and increase customer engagement. From simple logo designs to more intricate photographic printing, there is plenty of scope to print a creative, eye-catching design that is sure to get your customer’s attention. Minimum order quantities are as low as 5,000 boxes per order.

Start a loyalty program.

Promotional coupons are an effective method to establish loyalty with your customers and increase sales. Innovative pizza box designs have built-in coupons that you can simply tear off the box. This is great for businesses that can’t afford advertising, as there is no additional cost-per-customer. Another key benefit is that you are guaranteed to reach customers each and every time. Simply stamp, label, or custom print your promotions in the coupon space. Below are some ideas to get you started:

• FREE Soft drink on your next large pizza purchase
• $1 Voucher – Collect as many $1 vouchers to redeem on next purchase (valid pick-up only)
• 15% off you next dine-in experience (valid for coupon holders only)

You could even co-brand with trade partners such as soft drinks companies and receive subsidies for your promotions!

View our range of pizza boxes here or contact us today to learn more about custom branding.

With less than six months to go before the plastic bag ban comes into effect in Queensland and Western Australia, now is the time to make the switch to paper. From 1 July 2018, lightweight single-use plastic bags will be banned state-wide in Queensland and Western Australia. Fortunately, Castaway® has a range of suitable paper alternatives whether you are packing takeaway meals, or heavy grocery items in a supermarket.

Paper bags are 100% renewable, compostable and recyclable, making them the ideal choice to support the environment and meet government regulations. An extensive range of sizes are available including satchel carry bags and handle carry bags.

Designed to carry light items such as takeaway meals, satchel carry bags are a cost-effective solution for takeaway food outlets. These bags are simple to open and have a box-shaped base to make filling and packing easy. For carrying, simply roll-up the top of the bag to make a handle.

Handle carry bags are perfect for large, bulky items, making them ideal for supermarkets and retail stores. They are also great for quick service restaurants that need to pack large meals. These bags are made from heavyweight paper with reinforced handles to provide extra carrying strength up to 9kg depending on bag size. The free-standing design makes them easy to fill and pack without the need for special holders to keep the bag open.

Contact us today to find out more about the plastic bag ban, and how you can make the switch to paper.

The best coffee roasting businesses were awarded on 25^th November at the 12th annual Golden Bean Roaster’s Competition and Conference. The pirate-themed awards evening at the Westport Club was filled with fun as everyone had to muster their inner Jack Sparrow.

The annual conference was held at Rydges Hotel Port Macquarie and the competition received a record number of contestants. Over 200 entries from Australian & New Zealand, and 1,402 top quality coffees were judged through a blind tasting format, in 10 different categories and brew methods.

As the largest roasting competition in the world, some of the best baristas and bean experts converged to showcase their skills during the four-day long affair. Many industry legends and professionals were present to oversee the process. The coffees are across the categories of espresso, milk and filter.

Knocking off hundreds of other entries to claim top position, ONA Coffee from Canberra was named the 2017 Golden Bean Australia Overall Champion having entered truly exceptional coffees in the Espresso, Milk and Filter categories.

Zest Specialty Coffee Roasters took home the honour of being the First Runner Up and Coffee Snobs won Second Runner-Up.

Foodco – Jamaica Blue took out the overall Large Franchise/Chain Store award whilst the Espresso Room claimed the Small Franchise award for the second time.

Here’s the list of the Gold Medal winners:

• Espresso: ONA Coffee – Finca Deborah
• Milk-Based Latte: Patio Coffee Roasters – Ethipiano Sidamo Areka
• Pour Over Filter: Zest Specialty Coffee Roasters – Ethiopian Suke Quto
• Australian/NZ Grown: High Trees Estate – Premium Single Estate Organic
• Organic Espresso: The Vertue of the Coffee Drink – Guatemala Renanciamento
• Single Origin Espresso: Boston Bean Coffee Company – Odyssey Yirgacheffe Konga
• Decaffeinated: Nat’s Coffee – Indo Blend Decaf
• Chain Store/Franchise Espresso: White Mojo – Gawain
• Chain Store/Franchise Milk Based: Mantle & Moon – Super Nova 2.0 & Tulip Shi – Tulip Shi Cafe
• Chain Store/Franchise Filter: Roasting Australia – Gloria Jeans Colombia

Castaway Food Packaging has been one of the major Golden Bean sponsors for the last seven years. Participants were delighted with the free boat ride around Port Macquarie’s River while enjoying a delicious buffet of seafood.

This year’s Golden Bean was also the perfect venue to launch our new Coffee Bags as the event hosted several educational seminars to a captive audience of coffee roasters and suppliers. It provided a valuable opportunity for roasters to network with each other and form bonds within the industry.

?credit to australianspecialtycoffee.com.au

With the success of the 2017 Australian Roasting Championship, we’re thrilled to announce that Castaway Food Packaging will be one of the major sponsors of the Australian Roasting Championship for the next three years.

The Australian Coffee Roasting Championships is a new competition from the Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA). Coffee roasters compete by grading, assessing, and roasting green coffee samples. Judges will then perform a sensory assessment of the coffee to determine which cup has the best quality.

“We would like to express our gratitude to Castaway products for their extended commitment to the Australian specialty coffee industry, and for helping us to add value to the industry through the continuation of new events such as the Australian Roasting Championship,” said Kieran Westlake, ASCA Vice President.

Over the past 36 years, Castaway® food packaging products have been at the forefront of innovation for the foodservice industry. Knowing how important it is to keep coffee beans fresh, we have launched the new Castaway® coffee bags to provide cafés and roasters with a comprehensive packaging solution.

Our new range of premium, high quality coffee bags come in two varieties. We have standard 1kg side gusset bags for wholesale, and block bottom bags with Peel ‘n Seal zippers.

The 1kg side gusset bag is t1he ideal choice for coffee roasters who sell their beans wholesale for baristas to use behind the counter. On the other hand, the block bottom bag with Peel ‘n Seal zipper is perfect for retail sales. Customers can peel the tab to open the bag and use the zipper to reseal the bag for maximum freshness.

Custom printing is also available to ensure great brand promotion.

“We are excited to be able to announce this new partnership with Castaway products,” said Mr. Westlake. “Castaway products have been leading the way in innovation for over three decades, and their new coffee bags are no exception. We look forward to working with such an experienced industry supplier.”

The award-winning barista, Tilly Sproule of Queensland’s Tim Adams Specialty Coffee has emerged as the champion of this year’s Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) Northern Region Barista Championship. This is her third win a row which is just an amazing achievement! The event took place at Fonzie Abbott, Brisbane from 23 – 24 September. More than 60 competitors and judges took place in the competition, with almost every event sold out.

Together with the runner up, Matt Holmes of Veneziano Coffee Roasters, and third place, Raihaan East of Di Bella Coffee, Tilly has now secured her place in the semi-finals of the 2018 ASCA Australian Coffee Championships, which will take place on March 2018 at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo.

“I’m so honoured to win the northern region title – again,” Tilly says. “I could not have achieved this result three years in a row without my team and family at Tim Adams Specialty Coffee. Their support is out of this world. I am so grateful I can be on this journey with them by my side.”

To win her three-peat championship, Tilly captivated the judges by presenting a jigsaw puzzle theme – a fun, personal and interactive way to share her view on the coffee industry. Like the puzzle, each piece of Tilly’s performance served a purpose.

“It symbolised the need to have each piece working and connected together to keep us united, learning, and moving forward,” she says.

For her espresso, Tilly used a washed Geisha from Rodrigous Sanchez at El Progresso in Colombia. She blew the competition away by creating her finest representation of this Geisha. She froze the coffee in dry ice then ground it to extract a sweet and clean espresso with “outstanding flavours.”

For her signature drink, Tilly used a “rockstar” natural Ethiopian from Areka. It was a chilled drink, combining cherry and pomegranate with an ice sphere, prepared using the Areka coffee as filter, and balanced with the same coffee brewed as espresso. Tilly described it as sweet, creamy, and refreshing.

Tilly currently works as a QLD Operations Trainer at Gloria Jean’s Coffees Australia. She takes her craft very seriously and plans to continue competing to become the next female world barista champion.

The Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) is Australia’s leading industry body dedicated to promoting and growing the specialty coffee industry. ASCA holds coffee events around the country. This ranges from casual smackdowns, to official regional competitions that feed into the Australian Barista Championship, Latte Art Championship, Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, Cup Tasting Championship and Brewers Cup. The winners of these competitions then travel internationally to represent Australian coffee talent on the world stage.

As a local manufacturer, we go to great lengths to design and source our products to be ethically and environmentally responsible from long standing local and global suppliers. We monitor our suppliers on their performance against a range of key indicators such as environmental sustainability, international labour laws, business ethics and food safety compliance. We retain control of almost every step of the manufacturing process including dispatch from our factories in Arndell Park, New South Wales and Brisbane, Queensland.

An important part of the design process is the study of local waste collection and recycling facilities to ensure that our products are constructed to align with current recycling collection and recycling facilities.

Following the ABC television program War on Waste screened on Tuesday 30 May 2017, we have received several questions from our customers such as:

Castaway Paper Coffee Cups – Are they recyclable?

The short answer is yes. We are grateful for the public airing that the ABC has given this important issue. From the best knowledge available to us, the information on the War on Waste program was mostly correct:

• Paper coffee cups are made from paper.
• The paper is coated with a polyethylene lining (PE).
• PE is a plastic product.
• Both PE and paper are recyclable.

The bigger question the program raised was whether the recyclable cups are being recycled.

The program concluded, rightly, that there was confusion and lack of information about the recyclability of the paper coffee cup; and an awareness and education program is necessary. The ABC TV program left the impression that no coffee cups are being recycled in Australia. This is incorrect. In fact, most, if not all recycling facilities in Australia are recycling PE lined paper board products such as milk cartons and coffee cups.

Is enough being done in Australia to recycle paper cups?

No, we would like to see all paper coffee cups recycled.

What’s MPM Marketing Services doing about it?

MPM Marketing Services is a foundation member of the Australian Packaging Covenant’s (APC) ‘Polymer Coated Paperboard Working Group’ and is actively involved in this government and industry initiative working to address sustainability issues in the packaging industry. The APC published a media release on 31 May 2017 which refers to a ‘Recyclability of Takeaway Coffee Cups in Australia’ Issues Paper.

The Issues Paper cites a recent study that found that polymer coated paper (PCP) under normal conditions is ‘easily’ able to be recycled when co-mingled with ‘mixed’ fibre and ‘cardboard’¹, and that nearly 700 tonnes of paper cups are already being recovered and re-processed into ‘paperboard’². As discussed in the Issue Paper, we recognise that not enough is being done.

As a responsible manufacturing business, we are always conducting research and collaborating with suppliers to develop more sustainable paper products with the full product life cycle in mind. This will continue while we work with our industry, waste collection and MRF peers to make all Castaway products more sustainable and better for the Australian and New Zealand recycling streams.

Additionally, as part of our Australian Packaging Covenant on product stewardship, we are committed to educating both our customers and consumers about the life cycle of our products so they can make informed decisions regarding food safety, ethical sourcing and of course product disposal options.

We will continue to update our customers as new information is available regarding this important issue.

Download ‘Recycle Your Coffee Cup’ PDF

ISSUES PAPER: Recyclability of takeaway coffee cups in Australia

¹ Industry Edge, Research into Australian Polymer Coated Fibre, Packaging(PCP) Material Flows and Collection, Recovery and Recycling Opportunities.
² APC Issues Paper- Recyclability of takeaway coffee cups in Australia, Polymer-coated Paperboard Working Group (PCPBWG) May 2017, p15.

Currently, up to 1 billion disposable coffee cups end up in Australian landfills every year, which equates to more than 7,000 tonnes of cups, taking over 50 years to decompose. The challenge with these coffee cups (and other Polymer Coated Paperboard (PCP) products such as milk, juice and cream cartons) is that they contain an inner layer of plastic, rendering the cups difficult to recycle with other paperboard products.

The use of multiple material types within a single product poses difficulties for some recycling facilities who may struggle with the separation and management of the two recyclable components. In a paper stream, the plastic may be considered a contaminant, and vice versa in a plastic stream.

To address this challenge, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) has established a Polymer Coated Paperboard Working Group (PCPBWG) in collaboration with industry leaders and stakeholders. In alignment with the APC’s first pillar of resource efficiency, the group seeks to create a circular economy for disposable coffee cups, and prevent them from ending up in landfill.

Participants in the working group include APC members Cleanaway, MPM Marketing, Huhtamaki, PAC.NZ, BioPak, and OJI Fibre Solutions. The first sitting of the group was on the 3rd of March 2017 and the group meet fortnightly. The PCPBWG seeks to validate the industry positions on the recyclability, or otherwise, of these products to ensure that the Australian population have access to information, schemes and facilities to allow them to recycle their disposable paper cups.

Broader input is also being sought from other stakeholders including retailers and MRFs. By inviting participants from all parts of the supply chain, the working group seeks to address some of the key issues around PCP recycling, including consumer misinformation and infrastructure requirements.

The APC will work with the paper cup supply chain to ensure cups are designed, used, disposed of and collected to maximise rates of recycling in Australia – this can also be achieved through funding and support of projects.

The group will publish an issues paper with outcomes, key recommendations and action items in the coming weeks.

Australian Packaging Covenant