Kinetic Koffee Honored as a "Zero Hero" for 2021
Kinetic Koffee
Owners/Managing Partners Charlie Jordan and Mark Ritz monitor the waste they generate to track their zero waste progress over time through packaging reuse, recycling and composting their chaff byproduct, the ZWH press release said. By adopting a reusable bin system for handling, transporting, storing and refilling their coffee at stores, they have reduced their use of plastic bags by 80% as well. Also, their inventory sheets track their organic product and show if it is sold in a reusable bin or a plastic bag.
“Kinetic Koffee has always held conservation in all aspects of our business as a high value, from only roasting organic coffee that is grown in a natural shade habitat to reducing our footprint environmentally throughout our process. Not only do those values support our production of a higher quality product, but they also mean we are contributing to a more sustainable industry,” said Jordan.
He added: “We have been sourcing responsibly from the start in 2005. We quickly realized how much of our roast waste from roasting and raw green beans could be reused to benefit other endeavors. Within the first two years, we were reusing and recycling jute bags and using the chaff for compost and as a garden nutrient. As we’ve grown, it became more and more a constant irritant that the plastic bags we use for bulk and restaurant sales were designed for single use yet would last for what seems like forever. We’ve become more aware of how damaging plastic is to our environment, getting into our soil and water. We knew it would require a conscious focus and effort to figure out an alternative to the industry-standard plastic bag use that would work for the business. We made it a priority and it has taken us about two years to work through the kinks. Changing an industry standard requires persistence and strong will. Without that commitment from our production team, as well as from ownership, the change would not have happened.”
We have created a short video that was shown at the virtual awards show. We'll be posting it here soon.