The coffee pod is a nemesis to environmentalists, overflowing landfills across Europe and America by the millions. These pods, which are made from aluminum and plastic, are an especially frustrating source of waste because there are simply much greener ways of making coffee that require just as little effort to make.
With that said, millions of people are still using coffee pods, which is why Italian espresso giant Lavazza is now offering a more eco-friendly alternative that is compostable. Called Eco Caps, these pods are biopolymer-based and decompose even when they wind up in the landfill. Although they take up to six months to fully degrade, that’s much better than the 500 years it would take for non-biodegradable coffee pods to even begin disintegrating.