A coffee manufacturer is on a mission to bring affordable and sustainable coffee pods to American consumers, and one of its partners has its eye on manufacturing products in North America down the line. 

As detailed by Packaging World, Metropolis Coffee Co. has teamed up with Compostable Solutions and Jura-Tech to produce compostable espresso capsules compatible with Nespresso Original Line machines. 

The Chicago-based coffee roaster, which supplies its goods to restaurants, hotels, and other institutions, is thought to be the first in the U.S. to use fully compostable pods and lidding.  

The venture began five years ago when a hotel chain asked Metropolis president Tony Dreyfuss if his company could produce compostable Nespresso pods for its European operations. 

Back then, Nespresso was selling an estimated 14 billion capsules each year, according to The Guardian. Even though Nespresso pods relied on aluminum — an infinitely recyclable material unlike the plastic found in most single-use pods — experts suggested that enough Nespresso aluminum was ending up in landfills to produce the equivalent of 60 Statues of Liberty. 

Dreyfuss and Co. got right to work on the request. However, the team encountered logistical challenges, and it discovered that "the price was astronomical," per Packaging World. 

Yet Dreyfuss believed in the concept and suspected a compostable Nespresso capsule would do well in the North American market, including the U.S. The team purchased a four-lane filling/lidding machine from IMA and used Compostable Solutions as their capsule supplier. 

Meanwhile, Metropolis uses Jura-Tech's three-layer adhesive lamination (made from paper, cellulose, or non-woven materials) for its Nespresso-compatible capsules' lidding. 

In the years since, Nespresso has become increasingly popular, and that could directly benefit the domestic market. While Compostable Solutions CEO Frank Schuster didn't provide details about the number of jobs that might be created or where they'd be, he told Packaging World that his team may begin manufacturing capsules in North America.

North America lacks a recognized home compostability certification like Germany's DIN CERTCO and Austria's TÜV. However, the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) offers third-party verification for companies making commercial compostability claims on their products and packaging. 

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Metropolis' compostable pods have received its seal of approval, meaning consumers can drop their used pods at a commercial composting facility. This helps to reduce landfill waste and the generation of methane, a potent gas that traps heat in Earth's atmosphere. 

The coffee roaster has also begun rolling out 10-packs of its commercially compostable pods at major retailers such as Target, Whole Foods, and Costco. They sell for $7 to $9. 

"It's been a wild ride," Dreyfuss told Packaging World. "... You want it to taste right and you want the mouth feel to be right, which is why we aim for two different sizes on the grind." 

"Also, working with compostable materials comes with its own set of challenges. Getting the seal to hold and to hold over time involves a lot of little details," he added. "... But we like where we're at, we're heavily invested into this, and we're committed to doing it right."

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