An inventor has solved the problem of the millions of coffee capsules that are thrown away each year after use - with sugar-coated pods that dissolve in water . The soaring popularity of home coffee machines has led to a increasing amount of waste generated by caffeine lovers . Now , designer Eason Chow believes his innovative new product could be the solution - and found inspiration from the sugar-coated sweets dispensed from gumball machines . It involves covering coffee granules in milk powder then dipping the whole lot in sugar to create a revolutionary capsule with no waste created whatsoever . Taking inspiration from sugar-coated sweets in gumball machines , Eason Chow believes his dissolvable pods solve the problem of the rising waste generated from coffee capsules . Mr Chow , 25 , from Singapore , has also made a stackable coffee maker to use the capsules with . Mr Chow says the sugar coating will come in varying thickness and flavourings to suit all tastes - and he has also made a stackable coffee maker to use the capsules with . He came up with the idea after realising how much waste packaging is generated from coffee capsules each year . The product , called Droops , is still in the early stages , but Mr Chow says the coffee pods will cost around £4 for a pack of 20 and the machine will cost around £80 . The 25-year-old , from Singapore , said : 'Droops Coffee Maker redefines the experience of processing coffee in conventional coffee makers . 'The inspiration for the project came from the observation of how much unnecessary waste of packaging is made from coffee machines which use capsules . The product , called Droops , is still in the early stages . The pods will cost around £4 for a pack of 20 and the machine will cost around £80 . Mr Chows says he wanted to incorporate an element of surprise and fun in the design . Pictured : Sketches of the Droop in process . 'This led to me thinking of how can the process be redefined and be fun . ' He explained he drew 'memories to my childhood ' and 'the surprising and fun element of dispensing sweets from a gumball machine ' . 'Therefore , I decided to adapt this element of surprise and fun into the design and even personalising the coffee pods with different possibilities to heighten the desire of tasting different coffee types . ' He added that most coffee machines on the market are very industrialised and made to process coffee out of convenience . 'They neglect the importance of the visualising and the social responsibility through its usage , ' he said . 'Droops coffee maker aims to be a benchmark that identifies and exemplifies the importance of these elements to fun coffee drinking . ' The rise of coffee machines for home-use has led to a new waste problem that was virtually non-existent a few years ago thanks to the single-use pods to make beverages . Normally , these pods are made from recyclable materials - such as aluminium or plastic - but they are rarely disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner . According to Zero Waste Europe , an estimated 10 billion coffee capsules were sold worldwide in 2010 , a tenth of which was in Italy alone . But in the coffee-loving country , around 12,000 tonnes of pods that could have been recycled were disposed in landfills . As a result of the rising waste problem , Nespresso launched an initiative to encourage customers to recycle their capsules . And Tassimo is aiming to save their TDISCs and outer flow wrap packaging from going to landfill by partnering with TerraCycle . There are 323 public drop-off points in the Tassimo Brigade across the UK - and more than seven million pieces of Tassimo waste have been saved from going to a UK landfill . As an eco-friendly innovator , TerraCycle recycles the collected used Tassimo TDISCs and packaging into useful products . Mr Chow developed the idea after realising how much waste packaging is generated from coffee capsules .
Soaring popularity of home coffee machines has led to increasing waste . Eason Chow believes his innovative new product could be the solution . Pods are made of coffee granules in milk powder are then dipped in sugar . Price will be around £4 for a pack of 20 and a machine will cost around £80 .