Coffee enthusiasts everywhere love their single-serve pod machines for convenience. The machines are easy to use, quick to clean and don't take up much counter space. Plus, they make delicious coffee every time! The one thing they lack is sustainability. As demand for single-serve coffee increases, so does concern over the environmental impact of waste generated by these products.
One of the biggest concerns for coffee capsule consumers is waste. New research suggests these pods will take 500 years to decompose. So much so that some single-serve coffee manufacturers are starting to offer many solutions to help reduce the amount of waste generated by their products. Some major coffee companies such as Lavazza have introduced biodegradable pods to try and help with the waste. But the biggest and most universal way is reusable capsules: coffee pods that can be refilled and reused many times.
This means that instead of buying new pods every time you run out, you simply refill your old ones with fresh grounds! The benefits are obvious: less packaging waste, money saved on buying new capsules every week (or month), and less pollution!
How does it work? Simply purchase a reusable pod that is made for your machine. They come in all different sizes and forms to fit many other machines, even Nespresso! You will then pack your pod with fresh grounds and sip away.
Who knew drinking a cup of coffee could be such a big deal?
Well, if you're drinking one cup per day, it is! By simply swapping out single-use for reusable, you'll be saving 365 disposable pods from ending up in places like landfill and our oceans. At one cup per day, you'll also keep 15kg of greenhouse gasses from entering the atmosphere.
This is an easy way we can contribute and make a huge impact.
Other Ways to Reuse & Recycle Coffee
If you want to take your recycling a step further, you can take the used ground from the reusable pods after you enjoy your brew and make a body scrub! We love the idea of recycling in every way we can, and lucky for you, we have a recipe.
Everyone deals with cellulite, and it's not the easiest to combat, but it turns out cellulite and caffeine are enemies. That's right—coffee grounds can be used as a scrub for your skin that will help reduce cellulite. Caffeine tightens and provides antioxidants to the skin, so even if you used common coffee grounds, you'd see results, especially over time, when this scrub is massaged into the affected area.
It's an easy way to save money while getting rid of cellulite!
In this recipe, we combined our Perfect Coffee grounds with moisturizing coconut oil and a bit of sea salt; you could also use sugar to get a little more exfoliation. Daily massaging this scrub onto any problem area will stimulate blood flow, resulting in softer, firmer skin.
DIY Coffee Body Scrub Recipe
1 cup Perfect Coffee grounds
6 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp sea salt or sugar
1 airtight empty jar
Coffee Body Scrub Preparation
Step 1
Mix the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl
Step 2
Add coconut oil to the mixture, microwaving if necessary
Step 3
Mix well and store in an airtight jar