Are Coffee Pods Killing the Planet?

There’s been a lot of environmental talk as of late regarding Nespresso pods. Most of which has, of course, been predominantly negative. As a result, some of the biggest producers of coffee pods in the world have been forced to rethink their strategies.

But to what extent is the hysteria surrounding coffee capsules justified? Is the problem really as bad as some have led us to believe?

The short answer is yes, though with an important ‘but’.

A New Household Standard

Research suggests that the popularity of coffee capsules is growing at its fastest ever pace. In fact, approximately one in every three UK homes now has at least one coffee pod machine in operation. In total, we spend an astonishing £110 million on coffee capsules each year. And the figure is growing all the time.

The popularity of Nespresso pods and those from other major manufacturers is relatively obvious. Coffee pods make it quick and easy to make a genuinely fantastic cup of coffee in seconds, with little to no mess to clear up afterwards. Precisely why Nespresso capsules alone have sold to the tune of more than 27 billion units worldwide to date.

But what happens to these millions and millions of Nespresso capsules when they’ve been discarded? And is there something that could be done to curb the unnecessary and excessive waste?

Recyclable Nespresso Pods

To date, Nespresso has become one of comparatively few brands to demonstrate its commitment to environmental concerns. While the vast majority of major manufacturers continue to produce disposable plastic coffee capsules, the latest Nespresso capsules are made from 100% recyclable metal. Inside and out, every last bit of these Nespresso pods can be recycled.

The same cannot necessarily be said for all third-party manufacturers making coffee pods for espresso machines, but the company itself has made excellent strides towards 100% recyclable Nespresso capsules.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the market’s other leading coffee pod brands take the same route, but it’s good to see at least one brand making a real effort to change for the better.

Refillable Coffee Capsules

Slowly but surely, more households than ever before are trialling refillable coffee capsules. Available from an endless array of online and offline retailers, refillable coffee pods are exactly as the name suggests.

You fill it with your favourite ground coffee, use it in your machine, empty it, rinse it and use it again. On paper, the concept seems like something of a no brainer.  Save time, save money and save the planet at the same time. Nevertheless, refillable coffee pods haven’t yet reached a stage where they’re quite as capable of producing an impeccable cup as their disposable/single-use counterparts.

Eco-friendly and worth checking out, but often not quite as easy to work with as you might expect.

Hayman’s online coffee store brings you the world’s best and freshest coffees available as 100% recyclable Nespresso compatible pods*, coffee pods compatible with Keurig K Cup coffee makers (incl. Keurig 2.0 models)**, whole bean coffee, and ground coffee. Our specialty coffee menu includes the legendary Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, best Kona coffee Hawaii, and Geisha coffee (a.k.a. Gesha coffee) – click here to order today, we ship worldwide!

 

* Nespresso® is a registered trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., unrelated to Hayman®. Our espresso pods are not created or sold by Nespresso®.

** Keurig and K-Cup are registered trademarks of Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. unrelated to Hayman®. Our pods are not created or sold by Keurig®.