Amcor Survey: A Third of Capsule Buyers Pick Pods Partly on Recycling

About a third of coffee capsule buyers say recyclability is one of their main reasons for picking a pod, according to a survey by packaging maker Amcor, as reported by letsrecycle.com. Another 30% said it plays some part in their decision.

Amcor, which makes packaging for both kinds of capsule, surveyed 2,565 capsule buyers in France, Italy, Spain and the UK, so this is a European picture. People saw aluminum and plastic pods as about equally easy to deal with: 60% said aluminum capsules are easy to recycle or dispose of where they live, and 57% said the same for plastic. Still, 27% found recycling aluminum pods complicated, and 28% said so for plastic.

The survey’s taste numbers are more striking. Per the report, 60% of respondents link aluminum capsules with better coffee, against 17% for plastic, and 77% believe the capsule material affects the flavor. Among people who prefer aluminum, 47% cited environmental reasons, compared with 39% of plastic fans. letsrecycle.com also notes that new EU packaging rules will require polypropylene food packaging to contain at least 10% recycled plastic by 2030, which pod brands will have to plan for.

Our take: the quarter who find recycling pods confusing have a point, and it’s no simpler here in the US. K-Cups have to be peeled and emptied before most curbside programs will take them, and Nespresso’s aluminum capsules mostly go back through the company’s own mail-in program. The way around both is a reusable K-Cup, which leaves nothing to sort.