For Italians, coffee is a passionate tradition that no break should be without. However, the consumption of coffee capsules and disposable cups leads to considerable waste. To be more environmentally friendly, the employees brought their own cups and took part in a pilot project to reuse these capsules. Even small actions promote a more sustainable lifestyle and the beloved coffee then tastes all the better.
To us Italians, coffee is a love affair, one of a kind.
During the working day, when we meet in the lounge area to take a short break, to exchange views on a new project, to celebrate an order we had been waiting for a long time and which has finally arrived or simply to talk about our weekend plans, we do it in front of a good cup of coffee.
We unwrap a coffee pod, we put it into the coffee machine and, within a few seconds, our hot delicious freshly brewed espresso is ready.
Coffee enjoyment with consequences: too much waste
However, this automatic gesture, an undeniable pleasure, hides a very different reality: we have estimated to have used more than 3.500 pods and 3.500 disposable cups in the last year. An exorbitant volume of waste for an apparently harmless behaviour!
How could we improve this simple daily action and take a small step towards a more sustainable world, without giving up our much-loved coffee break?
Our personal cup revolution
The answer was very simple. First, we drastically reduced our consumption of disposable cups: we each brought our own personal one, which we wash after every use and we jealously guard on our desks. Different shapes and designs, we gave free rein to our imagination, to add a touch of colour to our breaks.
From the coffee capsule to the circular economy
Once set the cups question aside, we turned our attention to the coffee pods: each espresso means one individually packaged pod.
Therefore, we promptly placed a recycling bin for plastic waste sorting in our lounge area to collect all of the coffee pods open packages, which we regularly empty into the local plastic waste container located not far from our office.
And what to do with the empty pods? Unfortunately, in Italy used coffee pods cannot be recycled in the separated waste collection due to the presence of residual coffee and therefore they must be disposed in the undifferentiated waste collection. That represents a missed opportunity for all that plastic which could be recycled but it’s instead thrown away, ending up directly in landfills or incinerators!
Fortunately, our region came to our rescue! In fact, together with the authority responsible of waste management, our region developed a pilot project in the field of circular economy and environmental regeneration which deals, among other things, with the reuse of used coffee pods. Therefore, we started to collect all empty capsules that we periodically dispose in the dedicated disposal station. The plastic obtained from the pods will be used to make new plastic products, thus reducing the use of virgin polymers, while the coffee grounds will be used to produce biomethane or compost.
Small deeds, big impact: the new meaning of our coffee break
Today, our coffee break has taken on a new meaning: our action is just a small gesture, but it’s the combination of these small acts that can help us reduce our environmental impact in order to adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle and respect the environment more.
