Why are coffee capsules so hard to recycle?

Most coffee capsules don’t belong in your kerbside bin.

If you enjoy your daily brew from a coffee pod, you’re not alone. But what happens after you toss them in the bin?

Unfortunately, most coffee capsules can’t be recycled through kerbside collection systems. They’re often made from a mix of materials such as plastic, aluminium and foil. Many also still contain leftover coffee grounds. This combination makes them difficult to process in standard recycling facilities.

At SAND, with the help of our recycling partners, we provide a complete recycling solution for used coffee capsules. Our process separates, cleans, and recycles every component. Capsules are opened and sorted by density, separating coffee grounds from the capsule materials. The coffee is composted, while the remaining materials are cleaned. Metals are sorted, smelted, and repurposed for secondary manufacturing. Plastics are sorted by type, then blended with other recycled plastics to create raw materials for new products. What’s more, every eligible coffee capsule you recycle with us contributes to SAND funds to help us provide more for our community.

So, don’t throw those capsules in the wheelie bin! Collect them in a separate container and, when you’ve collected a couple of dozen, drop us a line at secretary@sand.org.au and, as long as you live on Shoreline, we’ll arrange with you for them to be picked up. No charge!

If you use coffee capsules at work, why not collect those for us too?