In December 2025, a quarter of coffee consumers used aluminum capsules ( the third most popular type of coffee consumed by the French at home, behind ground coffee and coffee in flexible pods). For the fourth wave of this barometer, theAssociationpour le Recyclage des Capsules en Aluminium (ARCA) wanted to measure changes in capsule sorting practices once again, in order to understand the existing obstacles and levers to capsule recycling.
This new wave of the survey confirms the progress observed at the beginning of the year in terms of awareness and use of the deposit
- Firstly, awareness of the sorting instructions for aluminum coffee capsules has risen steadily since September 2022. Whereas the recyclability of this type of waste (regardless of brand or territory) was only known by half of the consumers surveyed 3 years ago (49%), it is now known by 57% of them (an increase of 8 pts compared to 2022 and 3 pts compared to January 2025).
- Beyond mere knowledge, its “systematic” use is also gaining ground compared to September 2022.Nearly 6 out of 10 aluminium capsule consumers (59%) “always” recycle their capsules, a proportion stable compared to the start of 2025, but up on the first survey measurement (+6 pts vs. 2022). In practice, the capsules are primarily deposited in the recycled packaging sorting bin by the capsule sorters interviewed (68%; +stable vs January 2025 but +7 pts vs 2023 and +13 pts vs 2022). The profile of systematic sorters remains the same as in previous years: people aged 65 and over, retired people, people living in rural areas, affluent people and respondents who know that aluminum coffee capsules can still be recycled.
As a result, the feeling that aluminum capsule recycling is complex appears less widespread than in 2023
- Today, a third of respondents feel that sorting aluminum coffee capsules is complicated (33%), a significant drop of 8 points compared to 2023.
- Against this backdrop, simplifying the sorting process would appear to be a key factor in encouraging the recycling of aluminum coffee capsules.
1) The virtuous effects of aluminum capsule recycling on the environment already seem to be unanimously accepted by consumers, and therefore hardly appropriate for converting non-sorters or the least assiduous sorters to the capsule sorting gesture in concrete terms (and even more so in the context of ecological “backlash”). Whether they are sorters or non-sorters, the responsible and virtuous nature of capsule recycling is not in doubt: more than 9 out of 10 users (93%; of which 55% “strongly agree”) declare that it is an eco-citizen gesture – in the same way as other packaging – and that it has a significant positive impact on the environment (89%; of which 42% “strongly agree”).
2) On the other hand, the complexity perceived by some is reflected in the effort-benefit ratio on the environment, which does not convince 2 out of 5 users. The latter subscribe to the idea that sorting capsules ultimately has a relatively low impact on the environment, which does not merit the efforts made to recycle them (45%; stable vs. 2023).
3) Simplifying the act in 2026 by extending the possibility of disposing of this type of waste in the sorting bin to the whole of France would encourage more than 8 out of 10 connoisseurs of the deposit to recycle their aluminum capsules more than they do at present (86%; of which 52% “yes, certainly”) – and in particular occasional recyclers (91% “yes”; +5 pts vs. the sample average).
In detail, women aged 35 or over and managers are the main “drivers” of capsule recycling in their households
- When asked to identify the person in their household who is the most active in sorting and recycling aluminum coffee capsules (i.e., who encourages others, sets an example or takes concrete action), almost 7 out of 10 capsule sorting connoisseurs identified themselves as such (69%) – particularly women aged 35 and over (74% vs. 65% of men in the same age bracket) and managers (77%).
- Spouses/partners, children and other household members, on the other hand, are hardly perceived as “driving forces” when it comes to recycling aluminum coffee capsules (10%, 2% and 1% respectively).
- Finally, 16% of respondents admit that no one person stands out in this respect, and that it’s something that’s done collectively within the household.
Despite these encouraging findings, there are still a number of points to watch out for
- Firstly, the under-35s are still struggling to become aware of the sorting instructions, as half of them are still unaware of them (only 46% of 18-24 year-olds and 49% of 25-34 year-olds are aware of them, compared with 65% of those aged 65 and over). Consumers in this age bracket, for example, are more likely than their elders – and wrongly so – to believe that only certain brands’ capsules are recyclable (34%; +6 pts compared to the sample average). In this context, the perceived complexity of the act of sorting is logically much more prevalent among this age group than among consumers as a whole (59% of 18-24 year-olds and 46% of 25-34 year-olds vs. 18% of those aged 65 and over).
- Lack of information is still the main obstacle to recycling among non-sorters (40% of quotes: 30% because they don’t know where the collection points are, and 10% for lack of information via TV, the press and social networks). A shortfall, since among consumers who don’t know that capsules are “always” recyclable, the vast majority say they’ll take the plunge once they’ve been shown the instructions (74%).
- There is one nuance, however, since a significantly lower proportion of non-sorters say they are inclined to take the plunge than in January 2025 (28%, -15 pts on the “very definitely” item). This finding confirms the hypothesis formulated at the beginning of the year that a plateau has been reached in the conversion to sorting among consumers of aluminum coffee capsules who are unaware of the sorting instructions.
- Finally, communications could be stepped up regarding the requirement to deposit aluminum coffee capsules in the household sorting bin, since 38% of consumers who dispose of their capsules in a sorting bin do so in a closed bag (-2 pts vs. January 2025), even though this hampers the recycling capacity of sorting centers for this type of waste.
