Coffee capsules are evil!

Just I thought I was doing the environment a favour, by collecting and recycling my used Nespresso coffee capsule, I was too naive. Yes, not long ago I spoke about the benefit of the recycling program they had with TerraCycle - but a recent article published has convinced me that its not enough.

Single use coffee capsules (source: http://www.sciencealert.com/a-german-city-just-became-the-first-in-the-world-to-ban-single-use-coffee-pods)

The articles I've came across talks about the how Germany city of Hamburg has just became the first in the world to ban the use of single-use coffee pods from all government-run buildings. Jan Dube from the Hamburg Department of the Environment and Energy has criticized that the capsules "can't be recycled easily because they are often made of a mixture of plastic and aluminium. It's 6 grams of coffee in 3 grams of packaging." Jan highlighted a point that I've never thought of. 

After reading these article, I had mixed feelings. Like many others, I felt like I had to make a tough choice between picking whether I should be sustainable and stop using these capsule or ignore the fact that I just read that. The fact that using these capsules are very convenient and easy - to the point that unconsciously, it became a habit or addicted to it.

But after a few days of contemplation, I decided to stop using it in the future. I have found some alternative ways to drink my coffee. Most importantly, I think it's the right thing to do. 


Reference
http://www.sciencealert.com/a-german-city-just-became-the-first-in-the-world-to-ban-single-use-coffee-pods
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35605927