How Hotels Are Cutting Coffee Pod Waste Without Sacrificing Quality

How you consume coffee in hotel rooms is changing

Coulée Coffee Co. aims to replace replace Keurig machines in hotel rooms with its proprietary SWIRL system. Photo: Coulée Coffee Co.

In April 2026, Staypineapple began rolling out Coulée’s single-serve pourover machines in more than 1,000 hotel rooms across nine hotel properties. The SWIRL Brewing System machine features a rotating “arm” that dispenses hot water in the traditional bloom, extraction, and finish of a traditional pourover through what the company dubbed its EcoPour filter, made of paper and filled with responsibly-sourced ground coffee. After brewing a cup, the EcoPour is tossed, but because there’s no plastic or toxic materials, it is home compostable and will biodegrade in landfills.

The system solved an issue that had Staypineapple executives scratching their heads for years. Dina Belon, President of Staypineapple, wanted to replace Keurig machines with something that created less waste while improving the actual taste and ritual of the coffee. But finding an option that could work at scale – being consistent across the brand’s boutique properties throughout the United States – without exceeding reasonable cost, proved challenging.

“We went to compostable pods trying to make a more sustainable solution to the K Cup model,” Belon says. “But we just weren’t happy with that. We’ve looked at pourover and kettles and every different way to try to solve for coffee and tea in the room that was a better solution.”

The partnership between Staypineapple and Coulée has been a process of collaborative improvement. Belon and her team initially rejected the brewing system because the mechanism for inserting the coffee pod was “too messy and too hard,” she told me. The company provided Coulée with direct feedback, stating that while they liked the idea, the machine needed to be “dummy proof” to work in a hotel environment.

Coulée took this feedback to heart and redesigned the system.

“(Belon) was like, ‘You know, it’s a pass, but here’s some feedback for you,’” says Ted Ayliffe, co-founder and CEO of Coulée. “And we just took that feedback and made every single change we could to the system. We sent her another system for evaluation and they came back super impressed that we fixed everything.”

Now, Staypineapple guests can choose from Coulée’s Doc’s Blend, B.I.O.N. Decaf, or She-Devil Organic coffees to enjoy in their room throughout their stay. Ayliffe and his team hope to partner with other hospitality companies in the future, while continuing to develop their product to the point where it becomes a no-brainer for any hotel brand with a sustainability mantra.

“It was a process for sure and you know, we’re a young company and we appreciated them taking the chance with us,” Ayliffe says. “I think it’s going to be a great partnership.”

Crystalbrook Collection partners with TerraCycle to recycle Nespresso pods

Nespresso pods end up in a landfill the same way that Keurig K-pods do. Photo: iralgo74 /Shutterstock

Outside the United States, Nespresso machines are more common than Keurigs in hotel rooms. This has repeatedly stumped my OneCUP plan because the machines use wholly different products. Though smaller than K-Pods, Nespresso pods head to the same destination after a single use – the landfill. TerraCycle, a company that recycles hard-to-recycle materials, is giving hotel brands an option to keep these pods out of the landfill. Australia-based hotelier Crystalbrook Collection has partnered with TerraCycle to keep those pods from ever hitting the landfill.

The hotels collect used pods and process them through TerraCycle’s recycling program where materials are separated into metals, organics, and plastics. Metals such as the pod lids are recycled, and plastics are repurposed into new products. Even the coffee grounds are composted. Outside the room, the company also offers guests a 10 percent discount at its on-property coffeeshops and restaurants if they bring their own reusable mug.

“At Crystalbrook Vincent, the challenge was keeping in-room coffee easy, high quality, and aligned with our sustainability ethos, without turning a morning caffeine hit into a science experiment,” a spokesperson for Crystalbrook Vincent in Brisbane, told Matador. “We wanted something seamless for guests, but smarter behind the scenes. TerraCycle helped us land on a zero-waste capsule solution that keeps the ritual intact, reduces the footprint, and still delivers that first sip exactly how it should be.”

The end goal must be a “win-win-win” for it to stick

Crystalbrook Collection batches used Nespresso pods and sends them to TerraCycle for recycling. Photo: Alina Shishi_creation /Shutterstock

I had the chance to try Coulée’s SWIRL system at a tradeshow and was immediately drawn to how good the cup of coffee was. It tasted just like a pourover at a coffeeshop. I acquired the SWIRL system for my home, and now keep a couple packs of Doc’s Blend in my backpack with the OneCUP pods in hopes that the chance to use them on the road is fast approaching. That delectable coffee smell is now even sweeter.

For Belon, the switch at Staypineapple was about finding a pragmatic, “win-win” solution where the “people, planet, and prosperity can all work at the same time,” she says. While the new system might cost slightly more, its inline with the company’s commitment to other factors including sourcing renewable energy for its properties. The “impact to the guest experience is so dramatic that it is well going to outperform any additional cost. I’m not asking them to have to make decisions around their carbon footprint for their trip. I’ve done it for you. I’ve already solved the problem.”