What happens to coffee pods after you get your morning cup?
Maybe you're thinking, “I think they get disposed of properly somewhere else.”
Obviously, we don’t want to make you feel guilty (that’s not our intention) but the truth is: coffee pods are not properly disposed of, not here, nor anywhere else.
Over the last 10 years, this has become increasingly serious for our planet.
Coffee pods have been around since the 90s, but they got really popular in 2012. According to USA Today, over 40 percent of residents in the United States have purchased a single-cup coffee brewer at some point in time.
What are coffee pods?
A coffee pod is a small plastic capsule with an aluminum foil lid filled with enough coffee to brew a single cup of coffee.
Coffee pods are convenient to use and come in an assortment of flavors and coffee types, but the issue starts once these pods are already used, mainly because the plastic these pods are made of is really difficult to recycle.
Why? In recycling plants, sorting systems have trouble picking them up. As a result, most of them end up in landfills, rivers, lakes, and eventually oceans, where they break up into smaller chunks and threaten wildlife.
Are there any alternatives?
YESS!! Luckily for coffee pod-lovers and due to the increasing demand for taking action against single-use plastics, some companies are starting to produce eco-friendly pods. While there are still some issues related to how “friendly” these pods are, they've made some progress.
A lot of companies are now making reusable coffee pods, so that's a significant step towards taking the waste generated by traditional coffee pods more seriously.
More alternatives
For those who have not purchased a Keurig coffee maker or another brand of coffee drip machine or are looking to switch things up, French press machines, some of which attach themselves on top of a coffee mug, offer another convenient alternative to coffee pods.
Plus, brewing your coffee increases your mood while helping the environment.