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4 Of The Best Biodegradable Coffee Pods To Enjoy Your Favorite Drink.

Written by: Hendrik

Category: Health, Zero Waste Kitchen

Updated on:

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS; PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

Let’s start our day with a nice cup of guilt-free coffee.

According to the National Coffee Association, single-serve coffee pods currently make up 37% of all coffee consumed. Can biodegradable coffee pods be the answer?

The invention of the single-use coffee pods, also known as the K-cup by Keurig, made coffee lovers worldwide celebrate while environmentalists cringe. Even though they might seem small and innocent initially, coffee pods have added to the single-use plastic crisis.

In the last decade, coffee pod machines have taken over. We have noticed this, especially since we have been on the road. Almost every hotel has a Keurig or Nespresso pod machine. Even most of the Airbnb places we go to have one of the pod machines.

Coffee pods are convenient.

I get it. The alarm goes off, and you roll out of bed and make a cup of coffee.

Press a button and pop the little coffee pod into the machine. Followed by the humming sound of the water pushing, you have your brew ready to go a couple of seconds later.

The TRUTH About Coffee Pods

Now, I have to be straight up with you here. I am a coffee addict. I have been using a percolator for a long time, and I love the coffee these little things make. Sure they require a little more work than just placing a pod in a machine and pressing a button. (There is a little skill needed if you want your coffee to taste amazing.) But it’s not that hard, trust me; if I can do it, you can too.

Getting a machine that uses plastic pods known to leech chemicals and uses old coffee (who knows how long the pod has been in there) wasn’t going to work for me.

I am not a big fan of long blacks or drip coffee, and I like my cappuccino or espresso. The good old percolator will be my weapon of choice, especially since we are currently traveling.

biodegradable coffee pods

Why changing your coffee-drinking habits can save the world?

The reason why I am talking about coffee pods and why biodegradable coffee pods aren’t the answer is simple:

  1. 75 million homes use K-pods every day
  2. 112,252 pods are made every minute worldwide ~ newstalk
  3. The rest gets lost and potentially ends up in the ocean
  4. Over 56 billion coffee capsules went to landfill in 2018 ~ newstalk

That is a heck of a lot of waste that we can potentially prevent. Many companies have started designing biodegradable coffee pods and reusable pods, which are good alternatives if you don’t want to throw out your machine, or are they?

Like the compostable K-cup and the biodegradable SFbay cup, or the Gourmesso, they all claim to be 100% compostable. And most consumers will see that and don’t look any further. “If the company says they are compostable, it has to be right.”

Yes and No!

This is what I found on Groumesso’s page:

** Glorybrew pods are certified compostable in Industrial Facilities only. Check locally, as these do not exist in many communities. The pods are not certified/suitable for backyard composting, as no current certification exists. Not certified for backyard composting. ~gourmesso.com

This is what SF bay is saying. Although they openly say that the family business is working hard to get their home compostable by 2020, excellent.

Commercially compostable means that our OneCups must be brought to a commercial composting site for disposal. ~ SFbay

This is what you will find for any pods that claim to be 100% compostable, and they are only compostable if you have access to an industrial composting facility that can deal with them. So, in other words, it’s greenwashing and designed to make the consumer feel better.

9.8 billion are thrown out each day, according to a report from 2013. ~ sustainability.ucsf.edu

Let’s see how they hold up when we compare coffee pods’ costs to loose coffee beans.

The cost of a coffee pod vs. the cost of coffee beans

Brand PodsCostGrams
McCafe48 Pods$30N/A
Nescafe12 Pods$ 8-119g
Keurig40 Pods$244.5g
Tim Horton30 Pods$20N/A
Organic Artisan Coffee BeansN/A$361kg

I am not good at math, but that is a no-brainer, even for me.

What about biodegradable coffee pods?

Coffee cups are generally made from #5 polypropylene, combining aluminum, paper filter, and organic material( coffee ground). While generally speaking, all these materials can be recycled if separated into different types of plastic.

Unless each coffee capsule gets separated and washed, they most likely end up in landfills or find their way to the incinerator, where they get burned for electricity. Wind and lousy waste management also add to ocean pollution.

You know the story here.

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While companies like recycleacup.com try to tackle the problem with new inventions, using loose coffee grounds is still the better solution, in my opinion.

Companies like PurePod, even dare to claim that single-use coffee pods are more sustainable than percolators and drip coffee. The article in FastCompany puts it nicely. They say buying a Hummer is a great way to save fuel compared to your old 1950s road-going ship.

So yes, most cups can be recycled if separated – and cleaned – and then sent to a recycling plant – shredded down into pallets – and turns them into the new plastic material. But do you think that is actually what’s happening?

Only 9% of rubbish gets recycled worldwide.

So instead of hoping for the K-cup or the other coffee pods to be wish-cycled, we can take some additional steps.

Companies like Keurig and Nestle are aware of the ongoing pollution they create with their coffee pods. So one solution is compostable coffee pods.

Let’s look at the SFbay compostable pod: At first glance, it looks pretty good.

  • It is made from a plant-based material
  • It claims to be compostable.
  • But did you read the fine print?

Well, if you didn’t, I have done it for you.

Plant-based plastics require a unique facility to be able to decompose properly. Now, this is actually for any plant-based plastic.

The so-called “bioplastic”!

Sounds promising.

There are 8 in Canada and 220 in the USA, and the chances that your coffee pods end up there are slim to none.

If you want to find a composting facility near you, try the button below. 👇

Are biodegradable coffee pods compostable?

While biodegradable coffee pods are technically 100% compostable, often municipalities haven’t adjusted and allowed this waste to go into the green bin. Some composting facilities are not accepting this kind of waste, and until the cities and the waste management systems have made the transition, it is better not to throw them in the green bin.

Here are my top takeaways from biodegradable coffee pods and the Keurig machine.

  1. Coffee tastes best when freshly ground.
  2. Capsules contain less coffee than my percolator and are less fresh.
  3. The capsules cost about four times as much as loose beans.
  4. The pods create a massive problem for our environment.
  5. Plastic leaches chemicals into your coffee – this changes the flavor but also has health impacts.

Are reusable pods my best option?

As I was standing in the supermarket aisle earlier today, I was looking at the ground coffee, and there it was. A reusable coffee pod. But how good are they? The one in the supermarket was made of plastic. 🙁

While plenty of companies are now making reusable coffee pods to fit any machine, I would only recommend the ones made from stainless steel.

Why?

Plastic leaches chemicals, especially when boiling water is poured over these little coffee pods. They release endocrine disruptors, which can affect your hormones since they block the receptors. Not so good.

Ok, I am underexaggerating. It is a terrible idea to put plastic in contact with food. You should panic here!!!

Dr. Myers on impact of plastic additives on health of future generation | Plastic Health Summit 2019

Another plus of the reusable pods is that you can use fresh coffee and not the old stuff sitting in the pod for god knows how long.

Related:

What is Microplastic, and How to Avoid it?

The Dangers of Plastic Food Containers and 11 Ways to Avoid them.

Which one is the right reusable coffee pod for my machine?

The best solution is to use stainless steel coffee pods. Since they will not leach chemicals into your coffee, nor will they affect the taste. I have created this list of reusable stainless steel coffee pods for your convenience.

Note: Since I don’t use a pod machine, I read the Amazon ratings, and here is the result.

Reusable coffee pod for Keurig

Reusable k cups are compatible with Keurig 2.0 Coffee Brewers and Keurig 1.0 Model Brewers. Fit for K200, K250, K300, K350, K400, K425, K450, K475, K500, K550, K575, K55, etc., Fit for Keurig reusable K-Cup brew sizes.Important Note: It does not work on Keurig Mini, Keurig K Supreme, K Supreme Plus, K-Duo, and Cuisinart versions. (4oz. To 12oz. Depending on your brewer model).

4.2 out of 5 stars (3287 ratings)

Reusable coffee pod from Illy

  • Make coffee in rich Crema style, Compatible for X7.1 X8 X9 Y 1.1 Y5 Series Original Line Machines, But NOT FIT Model Y3
  • Durable, built-in permanent stainless steel (body and mesh filter) to extend lifetime use
  • Safe to use, 100% BPA Free, made of food-grade material
  • Eco-Friendly, saves up to 80% over the cost of pre-filled single-serving capsules

3.3 out of 5 stars (43 ratings)

Recaps for Nescafe

Stainless Steel Refillable Filters Reusable Pods Compatible with Nespresso Original Line Machine But Not All. 

Pods and tamper are made of #304 stainless steel, have lifetime use, and are environmentally friendly. The food-grade silicone rubber yellow rings are free spare replacements for the green ones of the pods.

3.8 out of 5 stars (579 ratings)

Ekobrew Refillable K-Cup For Keurig K-Cup Brewers

The Ekobrew Stainless Steel Elite is a sturdy, 100Percent BPA/lead-free, one-piece design, and it has a deep-set lid flange, heat-resistant grips, 100Percent silicone O-rings, and internal welds.

A new sediment-free filter, inlet dispersion cone, micro-screen, and laser-perforated base all provide the perfect combination of attributes to ensure a clean, full and even extraction of the best your coffee offers.

4.3 out of 5 stars (599 ratings)

Fun Facts

The average American drinks 3.2 cups of coffee per day

Independent coffee shops equal $12 billion in annual sales.

At present, there are approximately 24,000 Coffee Shops across the US.

Statistics show there will be around 50,000+ Coffee Shops within the years to follow.

The average Espresso Drive-thru Business sells about 200-300 Cups of Espresso and Coffee Based Drinks per day.

41 % of Americans own a single-cup coffee maker.

In Hamburg, Germany, coffee pods were banned from state-run buildings as part of an environmental movement.

Well, I hope this article was helpful to you, and you can enjoy your next brew without having to screw up the planet.

Photo of author

Hendrik Kaiser

I've studied biology and lived for 3 years on an off-grid permaculture farm. I love kitesurfing and keeping my body healthy and fit. Hence, I care so much about keeping our environment clean and being as zero waste as possible. Being a zerowasteman is a superpower everyone has inside of themselves, and I want to teach you how you can unleash it.

6 thoughts on “4 Of The Best Biodegradable Coffee Pods To Enjoy Your Favorite Drink.”

  1. Wow! You’ve really put together a Great page that’s easy to follow, very informative and descriptive absolutely nice, I can get behind something like this thanks Hendrik.

    Reply
  2. Hi Hendrik, awesome post, who would have thought!, I for one have never thought about the environmental impact of such minuscule everyday items like making my morning coffee. I have seen several tv programs based on Pacific ocean plastic waste issues and where it collects, and what they are doing to clean it up, but what a major expense, who pays for this, us or the companies that provide these things. Great post keep up the awesome research and keep it green I’m all for it, Dell Wood

    Reply
    • I know it is so easily overlooked. It’s just one straw. It’s only one coffee pod. Says 8 billion people. Well, you know what I mean. Donations and sponsors funded the ocean cleanup. All up, they got over 31 million in donations, which is a fantastic result.

      Reply
  3. Great idea to start using biodegradable coffee pods or even the ones made out of steel. I like this. Thanks for sharing. Just recently I’ve read that scientists are working on some sort of biodegradable plastic material. I’m not sure about the name but it might be a lifesaver! Keep up the good work.

    Reply

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