Is there a serious problem with coffee capsules?

The German city of Hamburg has banned coffee pods from state-run buildings as part of an environmental drive to reduce waste. Should others follow suit, asks Chris Stokel-Walker.

First there was the coffee bean, then the instant coffee jar, and then expensive coffee shop drinks on the go.

In the past decade or more coffee drinkers worldwide have adopted a new method of getting their daily jolt of caffeine - the coffee capsule machine, in which small plastic or aluminium pods capped with foil or filter paper containing coffee grounds are put into a machine that fills a cup quickly with palatable coffee.

"The capsules can't be recycled easily because they are often made of a mixture of plastic and aluminium," adds Jan Dube, spokesman of the Hamburg Department of the Environment and Energy.

The complexity of the packaging - often a mix of different materials - combined with the dregs of organic waste from unused ground coffee sitting in the bottom of the pod makes them difficult to process in standard municipal recycling plants.

There are other issues. "It's 6g of coffee in 3g of packaging," says Dube. "We in Hamburg thought that these shouldn't be bought with taxpayers' money."

Jens Kerstan, Hamburg's senator for the environment, said that the move, which is part of a bigger environmental drive, sends out an important signal. "With a purchasing power of several hundred millions of euros per annum, the city can help ensure that environmentally harmful products are purchased less frequently."

It's not just German politicians who feel this way. One in 10 Britons polled by Harris Interactive for The Grocer, a supermarket trade magazine, said that they believed "coffee pods are very bad for the environment." At the same time, 22% of those asked said they owned a machine...

                                                     What Kind of Coffee Are You?

These habits will help you identify what kind of coffee best describes your personality.

Many of us in the parent universe need a little help to get through the day. For most of us, one of the biggest “little helpers” is coffee. But how you drink your coffee and what kind of coffee you drink says a lot about your personality.

For example, those folks who take cream and sugar with their coffee are good at pleasantry and small talk. If you don’t have anything nice to say, you can just sit back and sip your coffee.

Then there are the folks who need flavored coffee. Sure, a pumpkin spice or a little hazelnut can have its place once in a while, but it’s not an everyday flavor. Seems like you’re the kind of person who needs to mix it up all the time.

If your coffee type is a complicated one that’s ordered in a shop with a half-dozen words to describe it, my guess is that you’re the type of person who showers and puts on makeup before heading to the gym. You might need to get over yourself.

For those of you who drink straight-up black coffee, I’m assuming you’re a get-it-done gal. No muss, no fuss. You take your coffee straight up, and you dish it out straight, too. Chances are I’d have a coffee with you — and probably a beer, too. 

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