Aluminium vs. compostable – the coffee capsule conundrum

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The most important innovation Nespresso created 30-plus years ago wasn’t just the coffee capsule itself. The humble coffee capsule allows different palates to enjoy completely different coffees, through the same machine, delivered within 25 seconds of one another.

Providing choice in made-to-order drinks isn’t usually an efficient approach – with capsules it is. Thankfully, each of us has different taste preferences – wouldn’t our coffee world be a sad place if everyone loved instant? Offering just one coffee will never deliver 100% market share, because not everyone who tastes that product will love it.

Twenty years ago, Nespresso was virtually the only player in the single-serve coffee space. They’ve always restricted where they sell their capsules – their own boutiques, or online – but never on supermarket shelves. The expiry of Nespresso’s patents brought ‘compatible’ competition from brands determined to build sales through channels where Nespresso wasn’t present.

Despite the popularity of coffee capsules for their relative ease of use, affordability and far superior quality to instant, capsules have come under significant scrutiny for the waste they generate. With a 2020 study estimating that coffee capsules produce 576,000 tons of waste every year, manufacturers have invested heavily in aluminium recycling schemes and developing ‘compostable’ capsules to cater to growing consumer awareness of their environmental impact.

The case for aluminium

Aluminium capsules, hermetically sealed with aluminium top seals, offer great shelf life. Aluminium is far better suited to protect coffee in the world’s hotter and humid climates, such as Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East than compostable bioplastics.

Consumers have always leaned into the fresh cup philosophy but just because an aluminium capsule protects its contents longer doesn’t necessarily make the coffee better!

Manufacturers often claim aluminium capsules are ‘widely recycled’, which is statistically a bit of an exaggeration. Although the media tells us consumers want to be environmentally considerate, in reality, less than 5% of the global capsule-consuming population actually recycle them.
 

“We can do much better than the wide array of inconsiderate consumer goods packaging produced over the past 100 years”

It’s noteworthy, too, that in 2022, Nespresso (for 30-plus years aluminium’s primary advocate) launched a compostable paper capsule. Admission of guilt over its contribution to global landfill – or strategic new product development (NPD)? Probably a bit of both!

Recycling rates have, however, increased recently. Nespresso, JDE Peets, L’Or, and other aluminium capsule manufacturers jointly funded the PodBack recycling scheme, which is open to smaller brands too. Sensibly, it combines refuse bags with collection to encourage consumers to recycle. Although it’s in its early days as it expands across Europe and further afield, PodBack is working, and in markets where the scheme is active, aluminium capsule recycling has certainly increased.

Nespresso aluminium capsules in production | Photo credit: Courtesy of Pierre Boss

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The case for compostable

It took a long time for manufacturers to develop mouldable bioplastic materials for coffee capsules, but once workable renewables were sourced and developed, compostable capsules grew very quickly. The ‘home compostable’ capsule has been the holy grail of retail coffee innovation for years because roasters and consumers perceive it as more desirable than ‘industrial’ composting.

But unregulated home composting is completely inconsistent from one climate to another, or indeed from one compost pile to another. Only industrially composted products, using controlled environments, can define a timeframe for complete decomposition – but industrial composting facilities are few and far between.

Disingenuous ‘green-washing’ by a few players pandering to consumer satisfaction by telling them what they want to hear – that ‘industrially compostable’ capsules are ‘home compostable’, or worse, that regular plastic capsules are ‘environmental’ in some way – has also caused regulatory, (and in some instances, retailer) resistance to compostable products. This is a real problem for those in the industry who strive to develop genuinely ethical products.

As the most critical component to a capsule’s performance, compostable top-seals must replicate aluminium. A capsule could be moulded from cast iron, but if the top seal allows oxygen into the capsule, the coffee will start to stale – so the top seal is always a capsule’s weak point. Most compostable top-seals are not yet full oxygen barriers and many brands seek to balance this reality with ethical market messaging.

The other issue is disposal. No matter what a capsule is made of the waste management industry isn’t ready, nor sufficiently motivated to modify its money-making machine. Waste handling is also inconsistent from one place to another – and sometimes even within the same city! Systems for proper capsule disposal must improve significantly.

An original aluminium Nespresso pod (left) and newer compostable version | Photo credit: Reddalo

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But this shouldn’t stop us from trying to build products that reduce harm to the environment. We can do much better than the wide array of inconsiderate consumer goods packaging has over the past 100 years.

Some European countries (particularly Germany and the UK) have enthusiastically championed eco-friendly packaging along with sustainability and fair trade. And because capsule makers want to justify their NPD with environmental claims, compostable capsules have been scrutinised more than aluminium.

European regulations currently seem to favour aluminium capsules rather than industrially or home compostable capsules on the basis that aluminium’s inherent recyclability is a positive environmental aspect.
 

“Even an environmentally friendly speciality coffee capsule costs less than one-tenth of a coffee shop beverage”

Shelf life, expectation management and price point

Aluminium capsules are usually marketed with a 24-month ‘best-before’ date. And a properly sealed aluminium capsule will in fact preserve the coffee contents for much longer than compostable capsules. So consumers could be happy with their ‘old’ coffee, if they can get their heads around the ‘fresh’ philosophical adjustment.

Shorter compostable ‘best-before’ dates are best compensated with information about the capsules’ sustainable credentials. Responsible consumers appreciate a coffee capsule that is demonstrably better for the environment and have no problem placing smaller capsule orders more frequently.

There’s ample evidence of the acceptability of a price premium for genuinely eco-friendly products and subscription models can deliver the ‘fresh coffee’ consumers prefer along with the benefits of environmental sustainability.

One of the latest coffee industry issues to hit the press in the UK is the “£5 cup of coffee”. Coffee shop customers accustomed to nipping out of the office two or three times a day for their flat white will probably still go for one. But if the cost of their favourite coffee has increased from ‘jingly’ pocket change to a crisp £5 note – an important psychological difference – my crystal ball predicts them making more espressos at home, or a cappuccino on the office capsule machine, instead of parting with three fivers a day. Even an environmentally friendly speciality coffee capsule costs less than one-tenth of a coffee shop beverage.

In a nutshell...

It’s impossible within such a small space, to discuss every aspect of this multi-faceted debate. But regardless of whether a capsule is made of aluminium or compostable materials, if it’s properly engineered, it will deliver a convenient, tasty and excellent espresso.

But why is this such an important debate? It’s in the context of real sustainability awareness. I attended an Amnesty International conference on reducing oceanic plastic pollution in 2017. Midway through the mainly recycling-business speakers’ line-up, a delegate just in front of me stood up and said: “Human use of plastics worldwide is likely to increase by over 400% by 2030 – so if you think we can recycle our way out of this problem you have another thing coming”. That’s stuck with me!

With the growth of successful recycling schemes like PodBack as a caveat, both aluminium and compostables have a valid place in the market. From a coffee preservation perspective, I would opt for aluminium – particularly in hot and humid climates.

Compostable capsules undoubtedly have a more challenging marketing task against the power of big aluminium PR. Instead, they rely on independent testing, environmental and scientific proof, and certification to demonstrate real eco-friendliness.

I’ll add one further ‘compostables’ clarification. Though there are now some very good home compostable products on the market, my first choice would be a capsule which can be decomposed in controlled environments, as well as ‘at-home’. Because no one can truthfully claim a home compostable capsule will disappear completely, or in exactly ‘x’ weeks, as compost piles are neither consistent nor regulated!

Ultimately, the ‘right’ coffee capsule decision comes down to performance, disposal and consumer perspective. My hope is that regulators and retailers will ultimately see through the recycling greenwashing to allow compostable capsules to achieve the market majority that will best benefit the environment. 
 

Andrew Richardson has over 30 years of experience in the global FMCG coffee sector and is a passionate advocate for sustainable innovation and quality in the coffee industry. Having held senior roles at Nespresso and Whittard, Richardson was described as “probably the most widely consulted coffee encapsulation expert, in the world” by Gerson Lehrman Group, and has served as CEO of coffee consultancy Whitebeans Global for more than 17 years.

This article was first published in Issue 20 of 5THWAVE magazine.

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