It’s estimated that around five billion disposable coffee cups are used every year in the UK with about 1 in 400 being recycled. Although our coffee intake sees no sign of waning, encouragingly, consumers are beginning to take their own flasks into coffee shops to reduce these numbers.
But what about coffee pods? Did you forget about those? Unfortunately, most coffee capsules contain plastic and are only ever used once, rapidly expanding that pile of rubbish that will take hundreds of years to decompose.
Nevertheless, there are many wonderful brands making biodegradable and compostable coffee capsules that still taste great. Look at our top picks:
CRU Kafe has launched 100% recyclable coffee capsules, which are also 100% organic and certified by Soil Association and Fairtrade. After rigorously testing every compostable option currently available, CRU Kafe chose to become 100% aluminum. This guarantees full recyclability, an airtight oxygen barrier and complete freshness. As the most recyclable of all materials out there, it can be melted down and reformed without losing any of its quality.
Since starting out five years ago, Notting Hill-born CRU Kafe have been producing Nespresso-compatible organic capsules ensuring they only work with farmers and co-operatives that are reinvesting their profits back into their communities.
Coffee & Kin’s journey started when a husband and wife team, Mark and Ruth, wanted to recreate the coffee shop experience at home. Using speciality grade coffee but without the pollution of plastic on our planet and in our oceans, Coffee & Kin was born.
Coffee & Kin proudly carry the ‘Plastic Free Trustmark logo’. Their 100% plastic free, biodegradable pods are fully compostable and are brewed using ethically sourced, 100% speciality Arabica beans.
By ensuring their beans are ethically sourced at fair prices and ensuring no more unnecessary plastic is damaging the planet, consumers can drink their morning cuppa with copious smiles.
Using the latest in advancements in compost-ability technology, Lost Sheep have deviated from the status quo and created their coffee capsules predominantly from wood bark. Professionally known as lignin, the bark is taken from waste generated by the paper processing industry that can no longer be used.
As it is 100% natural the product can compost to absolutely nothing in a matter of weeks. To match their green credentials of the pods the outer packaging is also environmentally friendly and 100% recyclable.
Lost Sheep’s Nespresso compatible capsules are fully certified by the Gold standard of certification companies TUV Austria who have awarded the capsule the much coveted ‘OK Compostable’ certification. We’ll take some of that on a lazy Sunday morning!
Colonna has worked hard to achieve the perfect and consistent coffee extraction along with the bonus of compostable capsules. The brand makes their high-end coffee capsules by crafting them out of aluminum that can then be rinsed out and recycled.
Colonna’s fascination with the science of making the perfect brew has seen their founder, Maxwell, crowned three-time UK Barista champion. The coffee in their Nespresso-friendly capsules has been roasted and ground in line with a specific recipe. This ensures that you and your taste-buds get maximum enjoyment out of your morning caffeine kickstart.
The website also encourages consumers to recycle their pods with a handy step by step guide. Champion of coffee and continued efforts to save our planet!
Hailed by the Independent online as the Best Indy Buy for Eco Pods at the end of last year, Roar Gill use a cutting-edge cornstarch-based bioplastic to create their coffee pods, and the packaging they come in, making them 100% compostable.
The brand is also conscious about the carbon used in the production process and manufacture their capsules using only renewable sources of energy. They boast a carbon offset of 29,603 sea miles when transporting their coffee from farmer to capsule. Made from Fairtrade, organic beans that are bought at a fair price from their growers, the coffee in these pods tastes as artisan as it is eco.
Blue Goose are embracing biodegradable coffee pod technology with their new range of eco coffee capsules. They use single-origin organic coffee and zero single-use plastic.
Their organic coffee pods are compatible with Nespresso, made from wood bark and guaranteed to turn into compost within 12 weeks.
Aware of the impact the coffee farming market can have on the environment, Blue Goose ensure they source organic-grown coffees, and work with WellWishers Ethiopia and the Bale Mountain Conservation Project to support and protect local ecosystems, wildlife habitats and the prosperity of those living in their coffee origins.
Blue Goose pods are produced using renewable energy, packaged in sustainably sourced, recyclable cardboard and printed using vegetable inks. To top it all off, they ensure the taste of their coffee matches it’s impressive eco credentials, by only using the highest quality Arabica beans.
Another unique plastic replacement, Moving Beans create coffee pods that are made from only plant-based materials, derived from sugar cane and sugar beet. They contain no aluminum or hydrocarbon plastics and neither does their packaging. Don’t worry, they may be made from wood, but they taste nothing like it.
Your coffee habit will be kept happy thanks to this brands carefully sourced and roasted beans.
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