Kaufland’s Coffee Capsules End Up in The Compost

There are several preparation options on the way to a finished coffee treat. Coffee capsules for automatic brewers have become one of the most popular, but they are not the most sustainable choice because they generate a lot of packaging waste – primarily aluminum and plastic. Now, more and more manufacturers are turning to environmentally friendly capsules.

Kaufland offers its customers a more sustainable alternative to tried-and-true coffee capsules: The Fairtrade-certified coffee capsules of its own brand K-Bio, suitable for Nespresso brand coffee machines, are made of 100 percent bio-based, renewable raw materials – obtained from vegetable oil and cellulose. The special feature: after use, the capsules can simply be disposed of in the compost at home. The packaging is also FSC certified.

The sustainable quality is also confirmed by the “OK Biobased” certification level from TÜV Austria, explains Kaufland. In the material composition, the use of animal substances, aluminum, petroleum, and other fossil raw materials can be completely ruled out. “In this way, we support our customers in making a conscious purchasing decision for a bit more sustainability without having to sacrifice good taste,” says Stephan Carbach, Head of Purchasing Sustainability International at Kaufland.

The fact that the coffee capsules are degradable both industrially and in domestic compost is certified by the EN 13432 standard from TÜV Austria (OK Compost HOME). There are no artificial, optimized conditions in home compost. Home compostable products are therefore only those that can also be composted under natural conditions – which usually prevail in the home compost heap. Thus, home compostable materials are subject to even stricter requirements than industrially compostable materials in terms of certification criteria.