Can coffee capsules fit in the circular economy?
To answer that important question, we first need to explain how the circular economy works.
In our travels into the “recycling world” while researching for rePodder™, we have seen many descriptions of what the circular economy actually means. One of the simplest explanations we’ve found is from European Parliament News briefing (for the full document link here)
“The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.
In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum. When a product reaches the end of its life, its materials are kept within the economy wherever possible. These can be productively used again and again, thereby creating further value.
This is a departure from the traditional, linear economic model, which is based on a take-make-consume-throw away pattern. This model relies on large quantities of cheap, easily accessible materials and energy.”
In our opinion coffee pods are an easy example of how certain resources can fit into the circular economy.
Fact: Aluminium is one of the few metals that can be re-used and re-refined infinitely without degradation. This versatility is a saving grace for any single-use item made with it.
When aluminium is recycled there is a 95% energy saving in comparison to the production of first-use (new) aluminium. To breakdown that energy saving… statistics indicate the energy saved by recycling one aluminium drink can, would power a television for 3 hours. Whoa!
The next leap in the circular economy would be to produce coffee capsules with recycled aluminium, therefore tightening the loop. For recycling to work within the circular economy we must ensure there is a value to the resource, which will continue the circular usage. In saying that, aluminium is so versatile that the recycled aluminium can enter many other resource loops, thus continuing to be valuable and kept out of the waste stream.
Fact: Coffee is an organic material that can be readily returned to the earth as compost or mulch. There are also many other uses other for the used coffee grounds (sign up for our free downloadable guide here).
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The least taxing method on the environment to get the aluminium into the circular loop, is via your household recycling bins — the ones your council provide you to collect all of your home recyclable items. These pods are too small to be processed at local Material Recycling Facilities (MRFs).
Only Nespresso® & TerraCycle® have “collect & return” programs running for aluminium capsules — but only a fraction of people are using them. These programs are also brand-exclusive (ie. won’t accept other branded capsules). Plus, there is quite a bit of additional carbon footprint associated:
• production of plastic bags & boxes,
• freight to special MRFs,
• processing at the MRFs,
• disposal of the plastic bags & boxes.
Let’s not forget that even IF you collect those smelly capsules over time, if the bag/box is discovered to be leaking during transit, it is tossed out (and into landfill it goes). Yikes!
We need an alternate option, to capture the capsules that are being tossed out, and preferably with a massive saving on carbon footprint.
There is a new little tool that is making waves across the coffee capsule and recycling industries — rePodder™. It was invented to provide the alternate solution with sustainability at its core. You use rePodder to open, empty, and crush the capsules. Then you simply fold the capsules and insert into an empty aluminium can (because anything less than 2" x 2" will fall through sorting filters at MRFs and end up in landfill).
This patent-pending process captures the small aluminium capsules, allowing them to be 100% recycled. Plus you do this at home and put into your home recycling bin. With the added benefit of zero plastic needed, or additional emission from transport and processing, this provides a massive carbon footprint saving. Plus rePodder doesn’t discriminate on brands — it will process ANY brand of standard-size aluminium coffee capsules (eg. L’OR, Moconna, illy, Vittoria, Starbucks, plus more).
By using recycling infrastructures that are already in place (ie. council’s kerbside collection) and not having to create new systems we can further reduce our footprint. The majority of industrialised nations have pre-existing municipal recycling programs in operation today.
By adopting the circular economy principles and continually refining the products and processes as we go, the future is looking brighter. It doesn’t have to be immediately perfect, it just has to start as soon as possible, and continue to improve. Right now is the perfect time to start that change.
We are on the frontier of a recycling revolution. Come with us, as we lead the change to integrate coffee pods into the circular economy.
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