When I first started my boycott, the only way to get plasticfree coffee was to buy the beans loose and grind them. Now theres all kinds of options from instant in your own bag to compostable pods
For other coffee posts check out our index. You will also find tea, cocoa, milk in glass bottles and something stronger.
But back to the coffee….
“Peter Sylvan and John Dragone in the early 1990s started building prototypes of a coffee maker that would brew one cup at a time, using a throwaway package that would hold the grounds and the filter. The result was the Keurig single-cup brewing system, which uses disposable plastic K-Cups that look like supersize creamer containers.”
“When the company began selling its single-serve coffee systems to offices, the price was too high to envision a similar product living on kitchen countertops: $795. But by 2004, the company had created a consumer version that sold for $149. (Keurig’s least expensive machine, the B30 Mini, currently sells for $89.)” Read more
By 2017….
coffee pods made up a nearly 5 billion dollar industry.
at least 16 million U.S. households currently have a single-serve brewer on their countertop.
coffee pods, or K-cups, that go in them… and make up a third of all coffee sold.
if you took the coffee pods that the coffee giant Nespresso produced over the years (nearly 30 billion of them), you could circle the globe over two dozen times!
That’s a lot of pods, a lot of plastic, and a lot of aluminium.
Sources for the above facts and a very good article can be found here.
So what to do if you have one of these machines?
Compostable Pods
You could try compostable pods. Such as these from Novelle Coffee
“Our dedication to provide premium coffee is matched only by our commitment to the environment, which is why our coffee is now available in compostable Nespresso compatible capsules.
Available in Intenso and Decaffeinato, it’s the same great ethically-sourced Novell coffee with added peace of mind.
Our capsules are made from 100% compostable materials that decompose over 12 weeks, meaning you can look after the planet as well as your conscience.” Read more
Reportedly the North American brands Purpods and G-Pak have also been certified 100% compostable.
Halo do something similar.
I dont have a coffee making machine so cannot compare taste… but Which have done a survey that you can access here.
Compostable Plastics
What is compostable? To be classed compostable, items must biodegrade within a certain time (around the rate at which paper biodegrades), and the resulting biomass must be free of toxins, able to sustain plant life and be used as an organic fertilizer or soil additive. For a man-made product to be sold as compostable, it has to meet certain standards.
One such is the European Norm EN13432. You can find out more here.
Composting Plastic At Home
While most agree that some plastics are indeed compostable, many say that it can only composted in large scale municipal schemes. As we don’t have many large scale municipal schemes this they say is a pointless advantage. I say the days of large scale municipal schemes is fast approaching as governments aim to divert biodegradable rubbish from landfill sites.
But more to the point, I have been composting my compostable plastic at home for years now, including Biobags, deli pots and disposable cutlery. Read more about that HERE.
It does take longer than other products and sometimes I have found shreds of it in my compost but I dig it into the soil where it quickly disappears.
Read more about compostable plastics here
Greenwashing
And never forget that bio-degradable plastic bags do not biodegrade where as compostable plastic bags do compost. Not all bio-plastics (plant derived plastics) are compostable. Read more here.
Compost Bins
How Do I Compost?
I have a Green Joanna compost bin and I compost up in the North of England.
More Drink
Hot Drinks Plastic Free
Tea, coffee, cocoa and drinking chocolate all bought #plasticfree and made with milk from a returnable glass bottle. Details here
N.B.
Lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x
And before you go…
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