Whenever you grab an espresso at home or in the office in Berlin, it often comes from a single-use aluminium or plastic coffee capsule. In Germany, these convenient coffee pods have become extremely popular, with billions discarded annually, creating a significant waste management challenge and filling municipal landfills.
In Berlin, the capital city with around 3.7 million residents, approximately 1,800 tonnes of household municipal waste are collected every day. Coffee capsules and single-use beverage pods constitute about 90 tonnes, or 5% of this total waste stream. Because these capsules are made of composite materials (often a mix of plastic, aluminium, and organic wet coffee grounds), they are notoriously difficult and expensive for local recycling plants to sort and process.
The Berlin State Senate is currently assessing policy strategies to discourage the consumption of single-use, non-recyclable coffee capsules. One key measure under consideration is a complete ban on non-recyclable composite capsules, which would force manufacturers to shift entirely to fully compostable organic materials. Another strategy involves imposing a green levy (tax) on capsule manufacturers, which is expected to be passed directly on to consumers as a retail surcharge per pod. In the central district of Mitte, a local environmental group ran a one-month trial where they distributed 25,000 reusable stainless-steel refillable capsules to residents and office workers. Additionally, municipal authorities are considering implementing strict recycling regulations on office buildings, issuing heavy fines to commercial businesses that fail to provide dedicated collection bins for recyclable aluminium pods.
Using the information provided in Extract B and your economic knowledge, discuss the likely success of policies to reduce the consumption of single-use non-recyclable coffee capsules in cities such as Berlin.
