Recycling & Reuse Programs
Imagine living in a world where resources are never abandoned to become waste - where materials are circulated in closed loop systems, where everything we consume is designed to flow in cycles of production and reproduction.
As a social start-up, everything we do is designed or actioned with purpose. Crema Joe strives to propel real, positive social change, and is committed to making an impact. So when it comes to waste, through our Recycling & Reuse programs we aim to increase awareness of the importance of rethinking, refusing, reducing, reusing and repurposing, helping consumers and local organisations to reduce their footprint on our precious planet.
Coffee Waste Program
Coffee 'chaff' is the dried skin on a coffee bean - this husk, which comes off during the roasting process, is an unavoidable by-product. To sustainably and responsibly dispose of our chaff, we donate it to a local landscaping and gardening service to be used as organic material / compost. Diverting our chaff from landfill helps avoid greenhouse gasses going into our atmosphere, and of course is a much more resourceful way to reuse and upcycle this by-product. Additionally, we also donate our hessian bags for reuse as weed matting at a local orchard. The hessian is placed on the garden bed, followed by mulch over the top, mitigating weeds and weed seed germination. The same principle will also be applied across an additional 3 acres of orchard for part of the revegetation process. Read more.
Packaging Reuse Program
We're supporting our local community to reduce waste by encouraging a circular economy. Part and parcel of an e-commerce business is packing products to send via post or courier - to minimise the impact of this, we collect and reuse used packaging materials for shipping products to customers, diverting them from landfill.
Whilst using our own packaging for shipping (rather than buying new pre-paid plastic satchels, for example) is actually more expensive, we're committed to maintaining truly sustainable business practices, from top to bottom.
You can donate pre-loved packaging materials to Crema Joe so that we can prolong the life of these items through re-use - please see our current collection status in the table below.
*Mixed materials must be sorted before drop-off, and please ensure you don't include rubbish or items that we don't collect, as we are unable to store or rehome them. Any old shipping labels must also be removed before drop-off.
| MATERIAL | COLLECTING | AT CAPACITY | PAY IT FORWARD |
| Air Pockets | ✔ | ||
| Bubble Wrap | ✔ |
|
|
| Cardboard Boxes (Small/Shipping) | ✔ | ||
| Cardboard Boxes (Large) | ✔ |
|
|
| Envelopes (Paper) | ✔ | ||
| Envelopes (Tough/Cardboard) | ✔ | ||
| Packing Paper (Heavy-Duty Kraft) | ✔ | ||
| Packing Peanuts (Biodegradable) |
|
✔ | |
| Packing Peanuts (Polystyrene) | ✔ | ||
| Packing Tape (Regular or Masking) | ✔ | ||
| Post Bags (Padded) |
|
✔ |
|
| Post Satchels (Plastic) |
✔ |
||
| Zip Lock Bags (Large, good condition) | ✔ |
Pay It Forward
On the flip side, if we have excess packing materials available, we'd love to help you out and keep these materials moving forward (see the Pay It Forward column)!