Zero waste coffee filters offer an alternative to disposable filters that are usually bleached with chlorine (which releases chemicals at landfill) and often sold in plastic packaging. Not everyone uses coffee filters, but they are popular especially for offices and businesses of service, like hair salons.
The other people that tend to use coffee filters are those people who are very fussy about their coffee. Using freshly roasted grounds tends to produce a better cup of coffee than just whizzing out a teaspoon and making a mug of coffee from a jar. Either way, there are better choices out there. . It’s best to avoid coffee if pregnant or nursing.
- Cloth coffee filters work the same as paper filters, but obviously can be reused. Again they can last months or years, with good. CoffeeSock (US) is made in Texas. It costs 25% less than premium paper filters and brews brighter than a French press, and richer than a paper filter. Just brew, rinse and hang to dry. Each pack lasts around 1 year (replaces around 500 filters) then compost.
- Stainless Steel Coffee Filters last 20 years (sent in a cardboard box). Sit on top of a mug or jug, add ground coffee and boiling water. It’s easy to clean and dishwasher safe. The wide mouth and handle rests in teapots, mugs, cups or glass bottles, and the fine mesh filters smallest grounds. Remove stains with baking soda, dissolved in warm water.
- If You Care Unbleached Coffee Filters are disposable. But they are unbleached and sold in a pack of 100 for no.4 size filters. Just place one one filter in the cone or basket, add 1 teaspoon of coffee for each cup, then compost after use.
- One-Cup Coffee Filters are ideal for people who drink or serve a lot of coffee. You can also buy one-cup brewing machines. These are all around the £40 mark, so depends on how much filtered coffee you drink, as to whether they are worth buying.
Zero Waste Coffee Drippers
Ordinary People Glass Coffee Dripper is made with durable borosilicate amber glass. This stylish coffee dripper is perfect in the kitchen, and combines form, function and great design. It works with Hario filters and all other cone papers (takes 2 size filters). No coffee filters included.
Kate Brigden Ceramic Coffee Dripper is handmade on a pottery wheel in a Brighton garden workshop. Place the dripper on top of your mug and insert a paper filter. Add 2 spoons of coffee and pour boiling water over slow, to drip through. Use with size 4 coffee filters (mug not included).
Biodegradable Coffee Pods
Ever since George Clooney began advertising coffee pods, millions of people have switched over. The problem is that most coffee pods are a complicated blend of plastic and aluminium, so are very difficult to recycle.
Although convenient, this has meant that over 3 billion coffee pods are used in the UK each year alone. Nearly all of them just get binned after use, and take 500 years to break down. Nespresso has so far sold over 28 billion pods, and they are all languishing somewhere on landfill. Coffee pods are also one of those items that in general, are too tiny to recycle. They are the wrong size and shape to fit through recycling machines.
This selection box of compostable coffee pods contains 40 pods from Brazil, Ethiopia, Brazil and Colombia. Grind (London) sells compostable coffee pods in a refillable tin. Keep the tin and subscribe to letterbox-friendly refills (use a letterbox guard if you have pets, as some smell like chocolate).
Quarta Caffee Coffee Pods have a flavour of dark chocolate, coffee and caramel. No plastic or foil, these Nespresso pods are compostable, with 10 capsules in each box. Made from vegetable fibres, starch and protein, just put used capsules in the food or garden recycling waste.
Sealpod makes stainless steeel reusable capsules. Designed to last a lifetime, just empty out and rinse, and use again.
