FAQs

Our paper TF-Cups are made in our production facility from paper that is based on Sugarcane Pulp (“Bagasse”) rather than pulp that is made from the cutting down and wood chipping of trees from our forests.

Yes, we can make TF-Cups into any design. You supply the artwork and it will be done. Or we can develop the artwork with you. Rules of scale will apply the more you produce of each individually designed TF-Cup the cheaper per TF-Cup it will cost. Terms and conditions apply.

Sugarcane pulp (called “Bagasse”) is the fibrous residue left after Sugar Cane stalks are crushed in the juice extraction process. We utilise what has to date been a waste product to the sugar Industry. Often burned for heat production to get rid of it, and that combustion producing substantial pollution.

No, paper has been around for thousands of years – whereas the ability to wood chip trees (essential to making them into Pulp) came with the later part of the industrial age. Previously throughout history paper was made from reeds; grass; sugarcane; wheat stalks; residues from farm crops and the like.  The development of the ability to wood chip Trees made cutting and chipping trees easier than collecting the residue farm plants, scattered across many small fields. This greatly accelerated the era of destroying forests.

The sugar industry is a huge mature worldwide Industry that has been around for hundreds of years, the human populations demand for sugar ensures that there are many hundreds of millions of tons of Bagasse produced every year usually in high production facilities where the Bagasse is produced & available in large easily accessible quantities.

There are many benefits of using Bagasse pulp packaging products:-

• The best reason is using Bagasse pulp as a raw material saves our trees and forests;
• Five thousand kilos of wood are needed to produce 1,000 kilos of pulp for paper, only 1,500 kilos of Bagasse is needed to produce the same amount of pulp;
• Bagasse is easier to turn into pulp than wood, consequently, it requires smaller quantities of toxic solvents to turn into pulp for paper-making;
• Bagasse is a rapidly renewable annual resource and sustainable – unlike paper or card from virgin forests, which are endangered by human harvesting;
• Bagasse pulp can as a stage from “the cycle of life” serve as paper, then re-enter the cycle as compost to nourish new crops.

We have (and are developing) a whole range of Bagasse pulp products (clamshells, takeaway containers, plates, bowls and trays) designed to save our trees which are made by pressing the pulp at high pressure and temperatures into a moulded form, which is then sterilised and sanitised to conform to FDA guidelines.  Bagasse pulp is preferable to Tree Pulp as the raw material is fast growing, readily available and rapidly renewable.

Our TF-Cups & Bagasse based tableware will handle hot food and beverages up to 120 Degrees Centigrade. They are microwave and freezer safe, have a high resistance to grease and are water resistant. Unlike paper or plastic containers, our takeaways are oven-safe up to 220 Degrees Centigrade.

Yes, TF-Cups and bioplastic lids can be composted in commercial compost facilities where they can completely biodegrade within 120 days.

The bagasse part of our cup is recyclable. This is because it originates as paper.

Unfortunately, there is no commercial way of removing the PLA lining from the bagasse in order to recycle the cup. Therefore composting is by far the best way to biodegrade our cups. The lids can be commercially composted.

Our TF cups biodegrade in landfill quicker than most alternatives. This is because it is made from plant, but also because the PLA lining is very thin so will biodegrade quicker than a lid for example.

Yes, our Bagasse pulp products will biodegrade in any compost environment.

The rate of decomposition depends on the composting conditions – the temperature, turnover rate, moisture, etc. Just like other compostable material, products will biodegrade much faster if they are broken into smaller pieces. Bagasse pulp will biodegrade at the same rate as other fibrous garden waste in a home composting system. They will biodegrade within 120 days in a commercial composting facility.

Yes. Our Bagasse products can be recycled along with the mainstream paper and cardboard recycling if it is not too contaminated with food residue.

Bioplastic is term which incorporates substances made from organic biomass sources, unlike conventional plastics which are made from petroleum. Bioplastics are sourced from various resources such as vegetable oils, cellulose, starches, carbohydrates, acids and alcohols.
Most bioplastics produce less CO² and their overall environmental impact is typically lower than that of conventional plastics.

Some biodegradable bioplastics can break down in 180 days, in the right conditions.

The packaging industry often needs mould shapes (such as cup lids) and transparent food holding containers, which simply cannot be made from paper (tree based or Bagasse based).

Our bioplastic packaging is better than conventional plastic packaging as it helps reduce the dependency on limited fossil resources (oil based).  Fossil resources are being gradually substituted with renewable resources. Bioplastic is predominantly manufactured using annual crops, such as corn and sugarcane.

Yes, bioplastics are made from plant-starch by-products of the agricultural industry. Plants absorb carbon dioxide during their growth and convert it into carbon-rich organic matter. When these materials are used in the production of bioplastics the carbon is stored within the products during their useful life. This carbon is then released back into the atmosphere e.g. through energy recovery or composting. The plant parts used are generally the waste products of the production process of the particular plant and usually do not remove the main part from the food cycle.

Biodegradation is nature’s way of recycling wastes, or breaking down organic matter into nutrients that can be used by other organisms. ‘Degradation’ means decay, and the ‘bio-‘ prefix means that the decay is carried out by a huge assortment of bacteria, fungi, insects, worms and other organisms that eat dead material and recycle it into new forms.

In nature, there is no waste because everything gets recycled. The waste products from one organism become the food for others, providing nutrients and energy while breaking down the waste organic matter. Some organic materials will break down much faster than others, but all will eventually decay.

By harnessing these natural forces of biodegradation, people can reduce waste and clean up some types of environmental contaminants. Through composting, we accelerate natural biodegradation and convert organic wastes to a valuable resource.

Commercial composting is an established process with commonly agreed requirements concerning temperature and time frame for transforming biodegradable waste into stable, sanitised products to be used in agriculture. This process takes place in industrial or municipal composting plants.