Between 2018-2025 we packed your coffee in plant-based, compostable pouches. They did the job beautifully with a lower carbon footprint than the old multi-layer plastics and at the time we launched them in 2018, we weren’t convinced that recyclable packaging was going to make its way to a recycling point.
Fast-forward to 2025 and the landscape has shifted. WRAP—the UK charity that is writing the much needed rule-book on waste and resources—has orchestrated a recycling system with government backing that makes sense.
From March 2027 (extended out from the original plan of this year) every council must collect soft plastics (think bread-bags, pouches… and coffee bags) at the kerbside. This is a huge shift from all councils currently pursuing different recycling routes, causing major confusion and inefficiencies.
The new WRAP spec is clear, they want companies like us to design and use a single-material, plastic film so the system can identify, recycle, reuse, and ultimately run smoothly at scale.
Compostables stay brilliant for items that ride along with food waste (our tea pyramids, for example), but continuing to use our compostable coffee bags will confuse the collection and processing of soft-plastic bags.
Knowing we needed to update our packaging material was also the perfect opportunity to add in some visual updates to those stormy grey and white bags you’re familiar with. Here’s what’s new:
1. Our new packaging is a ‘waste-made’ mono-material, soft plastic—the total bag, lining, seal, gas valve, and label—designed to drop straight into the UK’s developing soft-plastic recycling infrastructure. It’s comprised of up-to 70% recycled material that is designed to be fully recycled again.
2. It features the same oxygen barrier, same one-way valve but we’ve added a resealable zipper—your coffee stays even fresher.
3. Alongside the shift in packaging material we’ve been able to minimise total packaging used with a strong, resealable, single-layer bag.
4. We’ve given ourselves a new ‘V’ icon as part of our logo, showcasing the contoured location of our Dartmoor roastery.
5. Our new box-bottom bag design allows the bags to sit better on your kitchen side or coffee house bar.
6. The new label and taste card designs illustrate more of the Voyager ethos through adventure iconography.
7. Ultimately the new bags have a lower carbon footprint than our current compostable bags once you factor in the end-of-life recycling and reuse. The ability to utilise ‘waste’ or pre-used plastic in a circular economy is a huge step and we’re excited to be playing a part in the development of this system. Please do make sure your used bags make their way into the soft-plastics recycling system.
Use the bags as normal but you can now keep the coffee fresh in the bag with a resealable design.
STEP ONE | Collect empty bags with other soft plastics (bread bags, mailing bags, and other recycling symbol ‘4’).
STEP TWO | Right now—drop-off points are located at most supermarkets, plus a growing number of council sites running trials, but, by 2027 at the latest—straight into kerbside recycling everywhere in the UK.
Joining WRAP’s roadmap means a higher chance that every gram of packaging we produce gets a genuine second life.
Questions, comments, or just fancy a chat whilst you brew your morning coffee? Call or email the roastery—we love hearing from you. Sustainability isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about staying curious, asking tough questions, and making better choices, one step at a time.
Our journey started with compostable packaging—and this move to recyclable, recycled materials is the next chapter in that same commitment to doing better. The promise to keep making decisions with all our future’s in mind is how we started—and that promise remains at the heart of every decision we make.
From nurturing strong relationships with our producers to reducing our impact at every stage of roasting, packaging, and delivery, we’re in this for the long haul. Our goal is simple—to make coffee that not only tastes great but does good too—for people, for planet, and for the future we’re all building together.
We’re grateful to have a community of customers who care as much as we do. Your support has allowed us to keep learning, evolving, and doing things with integrity. This packaging change is part of that journey—and we’re proud to take it with you.