AROUND 30,000 COFFEE CAPSULES GO TO LANDFILL EVERY MONTH

The mixture of aluminium and plastic is difficult to recycle and extremely durable. It takes almost 500 years for each one of them to decompose. The capsules used in coffee machines are precisely those that have the worst consequences for the environment when it comes to long-term damage, compared to aluminium cans or plastic, which can take eighty to a hundred years to decompose.

A recent study reveals that 29,000 coffee capsules end up in landfills every month, almost 350,000 a year. Around 39,000 capsules are produced every minute worldwide and up to 29,000 of these end up in landfills, this is because they are usually made of aluminum coated with plastic which is difficult to separate before being recycled.

One of the key reasons they persist so long is that they are strong. They are designed to withstand the high pressures of the coffee making process. But there is an alternative that many consumers are unaware of, compostable capsules that can decompose in less than two months.