Best eco-friendly coffee capsules and pods for a guilt-free brew
Quick, convenient and downright tasty, the humble coffee capsule has revolutionised our daily cuppa (part in thanks to a rather suave George Clooney). However, it has been reported that a massive 350 million capsules are thrown away every year – and that’s just in the UK alone. A pretty sobering thought.
Don’t worry though, we’re not about to suggest you forgo your quick caffeine fix (heaven forbid!) because thankfully there’s a whole host of brands offering an eco-alternative.
Convenience is undoubtedly key – only 28 per cent of Nespresso’s pods are recycled, partly due to the fact they need to be collected or taken to a collection point. It’s all well and good that your pod can be recycled, but unless you actually do it, it’s really pretty useless.
Of course, the contents of a capsule is just as important – when putting these pods to the test we were looking for great tasting coffee, sourced ethically with the minimal amount of middlemen in the chain to ensure the farmer gets the fairest possible price. We were also on the lookout for other eco-credentials such as charity donations.
A capsule that is Fairtrade, organic and recyclable, may sound like the company is making a push for sustainability, but in reality the Fairtrade price (a safety net that allows farmers at least this much for their produce if the market value of the coffee falls below that price) can still be quite low – and coffee can be organic because the farmer is simply too poor to buy pesticides, not because they put in place sustainable farming practises.
Of course that’s not to say we should be avoiding Fairtrade (far from it!), with many thousands of farmers relying on this. However, we were happy to see some brands going above and beyond this.
So if you’re keen to really make a difference, it’s important to debunk the label. We’ve attempted to do that for you, so you can get on with drinking the good stuff.
Eco pod glossary
As the world has wizened up to the environmental impact that our time-saving habits are causing, so too have brands and are now adapting their offers. There really is no need to contribute to the single-use plastic problem with compostable, biodegradable and recyclable options all available. However, with all of this new terminology flying around it can be hard to know what’s best.
Biodegradable – this simply means the pod will eventually break down to nothing by natural processes - so technically even plastic could claim to be biodegradable. However, most brands that boast of biodegradability use pods that will take less than six months to disappear. A vast improvement on the reported 500 years or so it takes a plastic pod to do the same.
Compostable – often confused with biodegradable but with a key difference. Although biodegradable products will eventually disappear, a compostable product will break down to become a pile of nutrient-rich soil. It’s important to check if these can be composted at home or need industrial composting facilities. The former might seem easier but very often will take much longer to break down as conditions need to be just right to allow the process to take place. The latter isn’t a disaster, it just means pods will need to be put in your food collection bin rather than chucked in your garden. The benefit to compostable capsules is that there’s no need to dismantle the pod, the whole thing can be composted, contents and all. How long it takes to break down will vary but you can expect it to take anything from around four to 16 weeks.
Recyclable – pods created from aluminium are designed to be popped into your regular recycling, like an empty tin of beans! They will need rinsing first though, so aren’t quite as faff free as compostable – however they’re still a good option if you don’t have access to a food waste disposal bin.
Plastic-free – brands should only be making this claim if there is no plastic at all within the capsule itself, as well as the packaging it comes in.
Organic – just like anything we consume, it’s better if it hasn’t been doused in unwanted chemicals – both for us and our planet. However, coffee can often claim to be organic simply because poorer farms can’t actually afford the chemicals, so be sure to check this in conjunction with a brand’s Fairtrade payment policies.
Fairtrade – which brings us nicely onto Fairtrade. It’s imperative that farmers are paid a fair price for their coffee beans. This ensures we’re contributing to a better life for farming families and the wider community. If possible look for brands paying above the Fairtrade minimum price.
Ultimately, the best pod for you is going to be the one that’s easiest for you to dispose of properly. So if you live in a fifth-floor flat with no garden, the idea of composting your pods may be frankly ridiculous, whereas recycling may be more manageable. It’s up to all of us to do what we can. All of the pods we tested were compatible with a standard Nespresso machine.
So read on for the brands offering quick, tasty coffee that doesn’t cost the earth.
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