Hamburg just banned all coffee pods and disposable packaging

Ashitha Nagesh

Sorry George – you may be eternally handsome, but your Nespresso-drinking ways are no longer doing it for us.
Hamburg, Germany’s second-largest city, is officially taking a stand against coffee pods – because they are slowly but surely killing the planet.
And it’s not just the capsules that are in the firing line.
In the city’s 150-page ‘Guide to Green Procurement’, according to Le Monde, there is an all-out ban on disposable packaging.

Damn you coffee pods! (Picture: Getty Images)

That means bottled water and beer, plastic plates, and plastic cutlery are all out.
There’s also a ban on chlorine-based cleaning products and pollutant air fresheners.
As much as we love the coffee, there’s no denying those capsules are terrible for the environment – so let’s hope the rest of the world follows suit.

Why are coffee pods so bad for the planet?

Pod-based coffee machines are popular all over the world – particularly in the US, where around one in three homes has one.
But the pods themselves can generate tonnes of plastic waste.

Delicious, but unsustainable (Picture: Getty Images)

In the US the pod-coffee of choice is the Keurig. Here in Europe, it’s Nestle’s Nespresso.
Nespresso pods are made from mixed plastic and are, fortunately, recyclable – although Nespresso has not released figures about how many are recycled, according to a Guardian report.

Keurig’s K-Pods, however, are not even remotely recyclable or biodegradable, as explained in this investigation from The Atlantic.
Either way, for anyone wanting to be environmentally friendly, this independent report reckons instant coffee and filter coffee are your best bet.