UK-based supermarket chain Waitrose will be the first major retailer to sell own-label home compostable coffee pods from December 2018.
This is the next step in the supermarket fulfilling its commitment that all its own-label packaging will be widely recyclable, reusable or home compostable by 2025.
The four new Waitrose 1 coffee capsules will be compatible with Nespresso machines. All are Fairtrade certified and will be sold in cardboard packaging which will be widely recyclable. The coffee varieties will be from Colombia, Brazil, Peru (decaffeinated) and Italian style espresso.
It can sometimes be difficult to separate the small capsule from the coffee grounds inside for recycling. Coffee grounds are often used as a fertiliser, so making a home compostable version seemed an obvious environmentally-friendly choice. It’s estimated that a third of people in the UK own a coffee pod machine, which shows the demand for an environmentally-friendly solution.
Waitrose is already the only supermarket to stock The Eden Project’s home compostable coffee pods, launched March 2018.
Polly Astbury, coffee buyer at Waitrose, said:
“Our customers love coffee and worry about the waste pods can create. By being the first supermarket to launch its own home compostable coffee pods we’re really happy to be able to offer a solution.
“We’re committed to finding environmentally-friendly packaging alternatives and are excited by this next step.”
Other environmentally-friendly packaging initiatives Waitrose has introduced:
- In August 2017 the retailer launched new sandwich packaging to help increase successful recycling. Via a peelable tab the cardboard comes away easier from the plastic, enabling the cardboard to be recycled easier
- In October 2017 Waitrose trialled punnets made from tomato leaves and paper – this was a success so is being rolled out to all Waitrose Duchy tomatoes by the end of July 2018, replacing the plastic trays they’re in
- In June 2018 the retailer trialled a ready meal tray made out of wood fibre which felt like cardboard.
- Waitrose’s pea and lentil pasta are in boxes partly made from waste peas and lentils. This saves paper and energy
- A number of the retailer’s eggboxes are made from rye grass and recycled paper, reducing the amount of paper needed
