How to recycle Rumble Coffee pods

When we started researching and developing our Coffee Pods, also known as coffee capsules or Nespresso Compatible Capsules (NCC), there were two things which were particularly important to us at Rumble. Firstly, we obviously wanted the coffee capsules to taste good. We have high standards when it comes to coffee quality, and in our opinion, a lot of the coffee pods out there just don't cut it. They don't keep the coffee fresh, and the result is a weak and watery coffee. It was important for our pods to be a step above. Secondly, we really wanted to consider their environmental footprint and ensure that our customers could dispose of them easily and responsibly, and avoid them ending up in landfill, or having a negative environmental footprint.

WHAT COFFEE PODS ARE AVAILABLE?

There are three main options on offer by coffee pod manufacturers; plastic coffee capsules, aluminium capsules, or biodegradable pods.

OPTION 1: BIODEGRADABLE PODS

Naturally our first consideration was biodegradable pods - at first glance, they sounded like the most responsible option for our coffee capsules. However when we delved further into biodegradable pods, we realised that there were a lot of misconceptions surrounding biodegradable or compostable coffee capsules.

For the most part, compostable or biodegradable pods are not home compostable, and won't break down in a home compost system, but instead require the high temperatures and carefully controlled environment of a commercial composting facility. Since there's fairly limited information on where to find these commercial composting facilities, these biodegradable pods for the most part, get chucked in general waste, with the misconception that they'll decompose naturally in landfill. And whilst they might (eventually) break down, the cost to the environment is great. For compostable items, such as coffee pods, to break down, oxygen is required. Landfill facilities are typically airtight, or anaerobic, which suffocates organic waste, creating methane gas, which has a negative environmental impact.

On top of the environmental impact being greater than it would appear at first glance, biodegradable pods also typically do not keep coffee fresh for as long, and are much more costly to produce. If we had gone down the biodegradable path, we would have needed to charge more for the product, the coffee wouldn't taste as good, or stay fresh for as long, and it might not even result in a positive environmental impact.

OPTION 2: PLASTIC COFFEE CAPSULES

Whilst plastic coffee capsules are economical to produce, and would keep the coffee fresh, they're a mixed product, which means they cannot be recycled through regular streams. If they're placed in the recycling bin, they end up discarded in landfill, and for the most part, don't break down. That didn't seem like our best option either.

OPTION 3: ALUMINIUM COFFEE CAPSULES

So aluminium coffee capsules is what we landed on. Aluminium capsules are infinitely recyclable, when recycled correctly, and ensure the ground coffee within the pods stay fresh. Whilst these pods cannot be recycled using your home recycling bin, there's a great recycling program in place: the Nespresso Coffee Capsule Recycling Program, with over 100,000 drop-off locations, meaning the pods can have a new life after you've enjoyed your cuppa. You can even become part of this recycling program, by becoming a collection point. This is a great option for retailers, workplaces and other community locations.

HOW TO RECYCLE RUMBLE PODS

A recycling program obviously only works if it's used though, which is why we want to help be a part of the solution and make recycling our aluminium capsules easy.

Nespresso have over 100,000 drop-off locations across the world, and we are one of them.
So here's how to recycle your used aluminium coffee capsules.

1. Pop your used coffee capsules in a bag.

2. Return your used coffee pods to Rumble Coffee Roasters OR your nearest nespresso boutique OR one of the many other collection points.