The only brand of liquorice in paper bags available from Coleworths in this region is Liquorice Lovers which is presented in nice bio-degradable waxed paper bags.
Darrel Lea have recently changed to foil laminate bags recently, and like other manufacturers such as Capricorn, have adopted that process presumably because of cost concerns.
An issue with the foil laminate is it does not combust readily in the stove, and there is no guarantee of full biodegradability.
I for one, am willing to pay extra for the waxed bags, would that sound like a reasonable outcome?
Unfortunately neither foil laminate bags or waxed paper bags are recyclable. Both are single use. (Note: I am unsure if the bag is waxed or a plastic laminated paper bag. I’ll assume your assessment is correct).
Whether either bag can be composted is also unknown. If the waxed paper is made from petroleum based wax (I think it is likely to be the case otherwise they would advertise its environmental credentials), it can’t be composted. A plant based wax it could be. A foil bags can’t be composted.
As a result, the bags will be single use and end up in the general waste stream that goes to landfill. If one is looking at a better environmental outcome, both are likely to be similar as they need to be disposed of in the general waste stream.
While both might burn in a stove, one shouldn’t do so as the emissions can be toxic and lead to air pollution. In a stove, only wood should be burnt as this is what they are designed for. They aren’t designed to be an incinerator.
An alternative solution might be to go to a lolly store that sells its products loose, where a bag/container can be filled. One can take their own containers/bags for filling with liquorice.
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Thanks, yes, my bad, it could indeed be the Liquorice Lovers bags have a clear plastic laminate on the inside, but it’s thinner and of a slightly different feel to the old Darrel Lea bags, which had a thicker laminate.
It would help greatly if the vendors declared the constituents of the wrapping at least on their web pages.
By the feel of the LL paper, it’s also likely to have a thin laminate on the outside as well, which would have an impact on the time to breakdown in the biome.
No lolly stores here, unfortunately, remember when the supermarkets once tried lolly vending apparatus? Didn’t work.
Liquorice pieces are a challenge for storage because they can be sticky and heavy, and prone to break. Very little info on whether they can be dusted with anything like liquorice snow powder or sherbert/icing sugar. 2L wide glass jars with screwtop lids would be a great alternative, most found online are for allsorts though.
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