"Plastic coffee pods produce 100,000 tons of waste globally per year; and while some of the pods in the marketplace are recyclable or biodegradable, the majority still end up in landfill....

"Migros — Switzerland’s largest retailer — has designed and patented a brand-new way to package portioned coffee. The compressed Coffee Balls are encased in a tasteless, colorless, seaweed-based coating that gives it structure and protects it from flavor loss — completely eliminating the need for traditional capsule casing. In blind taste tests, CoffeeB has performed as well as conventional coffee capsules.

"The thin, plant-based protective cover isn’t consumed and remains on the ball of used coffee after brewing. The whole Coffee Ball — casing and coffee — is fully garden compostable (the company says they decompose into valuable humus within four weeks). In contrast, biodegradable capsules are still made of plastic — which can take months, if not years, to fully decompose." 

Article: So Long, Coffee Pods ... Hello, Coffee Balls?