TWO IN FIVE BRITS THINK IT’S OKAY TO CHUCK SMALL COFFEE PODS IN THE BIN, WITH 29,000 BEING SENT TO LANDFILL EACH MINUTE.
- 2 in 5 Brits believe that coffee pods do not need to be disposed of ethically due to their small size
- In fact, more than a third (34%) of single-use coffee pod consumers admit to throwing them straight in the bin (rather than recycling/composting them)
- 95% of Brits think it takes less than 60 years for an aluminium pod to decompose – but it actually takes around 500 years to break down
- 22% of UK adults admit they don’t know what to look for when choosing the most environmentally friendly single-use coffee pods, with 4 in 10 Brits either not knowing or thinking recyclable aluminium and compostable pods are the same
- Grind has launched the world’s most sustainable coffee pod – the first to be certified as Home Compostable
According to new research, more than 70% of UK adults want to ‘do more’ to help the environment, agreeing that ‘it’s more important now than ever to recycle and compost’.
But when asked about their sustainability habits, almost a quarter (24%) of Brits admit they don’t know what they can recycle, more than 20% think recycling and composting is too complicated, and 15% say they don’t care.
The research, which was carried out by sustainable coffee brand Grind, also revealed that when it comes to sustainable choices, size really does matter. In fact two in five Brits think that you don’t have to dispose of coffee pods ethically because they’re small, with more than a third admitting to throwing them away, instead of recycling them.
This attitude has contributed to an eye-watering 29,000 plastic and aluminium coffee pods being sent to landfill each minute, exacerbated by exaggerated claims being made by the big pod brands.
While Nestlé’s Nespresso® offers a recycling program, less than one in three aluminium pods are actually recycled, and each new pod is made of at least 20% non-recycled aluminium. This reveals the ugly truth of a supply chain with a massive environmental and social cost. Huge amounts of energy, water resources and chemicals are required to produce this new aluminium, in what is a highly destructive process. At a resource cost of four tons of bauxite to one ton of aluminium, it’s time to move on from causing this damage to our planet.
In addition, most coffee pods described as ‘compostable’ or ‘recyclable’ often require large scale industrial processes to be processed, or need to be collected by a local council or waste collection. It’s no wonder that Brits are confused.
Grind CEO and Founder, David Abrahamovitch, said: “The vast majority of us want to make better choices for the planet – but it’s not always easy knowing which is the more sustainable choice. We found that one in five Brits didn’t know what to look out for when choosing an environmentally friendly coffee pod, and amongst all the mixed messages, four in 10 either didn’t know or thought recyclable aluminium and compostable pods were the same. When you consider the impact of this common misconception – a mistake that would take the planet 500-years to reverse – creating the world’s most sustainable coffee pod was a no-brainer, and we’re delighted to say that we’ve done just that.”
Using micro bacterial fermentation (also known as PHA), Grind’s new Home Compostable Coffee Pods have become the first in the UK to be certified as Home Compostable – breaking down in a compost bin, food waste bin, or even general waste bin faster than any other pod on the market.
“Whether you’re guilty of chucking your coffee pods straight in the bin or are trying your best to recycle”, David added, “just by making the swap to our Home Compostable Coffee Pods, you’ve made the best possible choice for the planet.”
To prove just how well they decompose Grind has created the world’s first Composting Live Stream, allowing Brits to tune in and watch its new Home Compostable pods decompose in real time alongside other aluminium and industrially compostable pods in the market, live from David’s back garden.
Also offering advice on how to be more sustainable at home, including how to get started with composting and be more sustainable, is TV presenter and gardening expert Daisy Payne – widely known for her Instagram @GardenToGarnish.
Grind’s new Home Compostable Coffee Pods are available online now at www.grind.co.uk. Existing Grind subscribers will find the new Home Compostable Coffee Pods in their next subscription.