Manufacturers join forces to install collection points for the recycling of these polluting containers
Coffee is one of the most consumed infusions in Spain. And confinement and teleworking have given rise to a trend that has been observed for a few years: prepare it with capsules. Currently, seven out of ten households drink coffee in this format.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in 2020 almost half of all the business that moved the self-consumption of coffees and infusions (1417929.49 euros) was taken by the section of coffee in capsules (649859.16 euros). Although its price is considerably higher than any other option (34.51 euros per kilo, compared to 7.45 for roasted coffee), its consumption continues to grow in Spain.
Whether the rise of this format is due to convenience or marketing success remains to be studied, but the truth is that the environmental price to be paid is so high that it has also been criticized in recent times. According
a report Made in the UK, of the 39,000 capsules produced worldwide every minute, 29,000 of them end up in landfill.
Additionally, these containers are often made of plastic and aluminum, which also makes them difficult to recycle. Aluminum is usually chosen because it is one of the best materials to maintain characteristics such as the flavor of coffee. Compared to plastic, it offers more recycling options (it is estimated, in fact, that 75% of all aluminum produced is still used today).
Furthermore, aluminum can be reused in a wide variety of products, from cars to computers, because its properties do not change during the recycling process, in which only 5% of the energy needed to produce new aluminum is used.
Aware of these difficulties, companies are doing their part to, on the one hand, facilitate the recycling of these containers and, on the other, investigate new materials that allow coffee to be preserved in an optimal state but have less impact. Some of the major international manufacturers are starting to use compostable capsules.
Own recycling system
Regarding the dilemma of recycling, the Spanish Coffee Association (AECafé) and its 24 associated companies promoted, since last summer, the creation of their own coffee capsule collection and recycling system. This initiative was established as the Alliance for the Recycling of Coffee Capsules (ARECAFE).
Now, this movement is embodied in
RECICAP Circlewhich feeds on many of the clean points that exist in the municipalities to form a network for the collection and recycling of coffee capsules that starts with 4,057 collection points (they can be consulted in their
Web page).
Although this initiative has just been formed, it is assured that it is capable of serving nearly 42 million people throughout the Spanish territory. In addition, they assure that their objective is to continue expanding both the collection points and the coverage thanks to the agreements with public administrations and distributors.
It should be noted that among the companies participating in this initiative is Nestlé Spain (manufacturer of the Nescafé Dolce Gusto and Nespresso brands), which provides its own collection system as a base. This system was launched in Spain in 2010 and allowed the user to leave their capsules in certain associated stores for subsequent treatment by the manufacturer.
How is it recycled today?
The user must be the person who takes these coffee capsules to the collection points (either stores or clean points). This RECICAP Circle will be in charge of collecting and transporting the capsules to the corresponding treatment plant.
According to the information provided, the first step is to extract the coffee grounds from these pods, which will be treated so that they can be used as fertilizer for agricultural use. Once the capsules are opened, they will be separated according to the material they are made of (plastic or aluminium).
Those that are composed of the latter, will be melted down to be able to reuse the metal. While the plastic capsules will also be treated to produce pellets that are later used to make other products, such as pots, street furniture, computer mice, etc.
The users themselves can also carry out part of this process at home, also recommending that they reuse the coffee grounds as fertilizer for plants and separating the plastic capsules in each container. You can even, letting your imagination run wild, reuse these containers as decoration.