Greening Up Our K-Cups
Posted by Doug on 20 Jun 2008 at 12:07 pm | Tagged as: Social Responsibility
“When will you be able to offer a more sustainable K-Cup?”
We hear this question a lot — from our customers, sure, but also from people throughout our own organization. It’s a simple question, but the answers are pretty complex.
Consider for a moment that sustainability means different things to different people. For some it’s being carbon-neutral, for others it means being recyclable or made strictly with renewable materials, or a product that’s compostable, biodegradable or petroleum-free. That’s not an attempt to muddy the waters, but to try to lay out some of the many fronts we’re actively researching in order to make K-Cups, and single-cup brewing in general, every bit as ecological as it is convenient. 
- We *are* researching alternatives to the materials that currently make up our K-Cups. There’s not a lot we can publicly talk about just yet, save to say this is an active effort for us, and an important one.
- We’re conducting Life-Cycle Analysis to better understand the entire ecological footprint of the K-Cup. That’s more than just its packaging… it’s an attempt to evaluate the *entire* footprint — and to look at both the product’s positive and negative attributes.
While our research continues, we continue to take active steps. We’re introducing more Fair Trade Certified® coffees into our K-Cup product line. We’re promoting the “My K-Cup” reusable single-serve filter, which is compatible with all of the home brewers we offer today. And we recently added recycling codes to those parts of our home brewers that are recyclable.
We intend to continue to improve the ecological impact of our K-Cups until we’re all of us satisfied — customers and employees alike — that our K-Cups are a winning proposition not only for coffee lovers the world over, but for the world, too.
I think the Kcups are fine the way they are. Changing them may change the coffee flavor and that would be a disaster!
Leave them the way they are.
Not to worry!
Any changes in favor of sustainability will have to pass an exam by our extremely fussy coffee tasters. (Take it from me… I’m one of those fussy tasters!) We demand quality in our cup, and we won’t settle for anything less… we know you wouldn’t, either.
I completely believe in what Green Mountain is doing! If ALL of us don’t make the necessary changes in our lifestyles to reduce our own carbon footprints, then our Earth’s future will be very bleak.
It’s not that hard to be conscious of your actions, and it makes such a huge difference when you do!
Thank you Doug for shedding some light on this and encouraging this conversation. As with any “packaged good” the packaging is a challenge environmentally. On a macro-level, it seems like the entire packaged-goods industry needs to find a better way to delivery quality to people. We need to find ways to turn our waste-stream into valuable products/materials vs filling up land-fills. Green Mountain is probably one of the a few companies seriously working to figure this out, which is why I’m so proud to work here.
In the meantime, there are important things that all of us can do in our personal lives to reduce our ecological “footprint” and be more efficient in our energy/food/transportation needs. Every little step helps. That’s why I’ve been volunteering for http://www.carbonshredders.org to help people use the online “carbon diet” program that helps people measure and reduce their energy-use and Carbon footprint. Since we did the “Low Carbon Diet” in our home, (about a year ago) we are saving over $2000 per year on power/heating/gas bills and reduced our carbon footprint from 35,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds. The online “Do Your Part” tool walks you through simple things you can do to be more efficient and shows you how much C02 and $ you’ll save for each step. Lots of little things like flourescent lightbulbs and power strips DO add up to big improvements that will save everyone $. I highly recommend the diet!
GB
Just after firing off my comment on the social responsibility of your K-cups, I moved to the next topic – your efforts at resolving the sustainability problems of the cups!
Mea culpa for not reading further and thank you for keeping the total environment in mind.
BMK
Thanks, Barbara!
And not to worry… I have trouble keeping up with the latest posts, too!
I think that you should look into a corn based plastic that is now available for use in bottled water and do the same for the K-cups. They are biodegradeable in the landfill and there is the reduction of offgasing from the degredation from the regular plastics.
[...] this coffee means serious consumption; the brewing system and the plastic, K-Cups. A company blog post responds basically by saying: It’s complicated. We’re working on [...]
Although the K-cups are not biodegradable, by using them and a reuseable mug at home, instead of buying a cup of coffee in a much larger plastic cup at a coffee shop each day, it does save a bit on what’s being put into our garbage everyday.
Thanks for this article. I’m in love with my Keurig and the only thing that has been bothering me about it has been the collection of little plastic k-cups leftover.
I found a great use for the left over k-cups. I empty the used coffee grounds and use them as little pots for my small african violets. Perfect size and better than buying small plastic pots.
Tesmango makes a great point. There are many days when I find myself buying coffee while I am out and about rather than taking the time to make a cup at home. I just do not like having to fill the individual filter and clean it up every time I want a cup (not that it is hard or anything-just more time consuming than ordering through a drive thru). I do not always want the same ol’ coffee that we have at home either. If I would look at it as using less waste than one of the to-go cups, it puts it more in perspective. I do look forward to the recyclable/biodegradable K-cups of the future though. That would really help with the guilt of not being able to be “green” while enjoying my coffee.
It’s been a while since the last post on this topic. I REALLY hope that Green Mountain Coffee finds an alternative container for the K-Cups. I think they would be a hot seller, especially if you’re the first to offer it. I usually enjoy at least 2 cups of coffee a day from my brewer and I use a reusable coffee cup. However, drinking 2 k-Cups a day for 365 days a year (that’s pretty realistic for me, as I am addicted to your coffee), that’s about 700 K-Cups in the landfill per year just from me! I applaud you for your efforts! Keep us posted!!
Has there been any progress on this? My company is seriously considering K-cups, but the recycling issue has been brought up a few times. Please advise.
I was just given a K-cup maker, and love the convenience! But I was saddened to see no recycle code on the cups. I’m considering returning the maker, because, though small, I’m concerned about the waste I’ll be generating over the course of the maker’s lifetime. I have a refillable pot, too, but that sort of defeats the convenience factor.
GMC…hope you can fix this soon!
Thanks.
Thanks for your efforts and I look forward to being able to purchase “green” k-cups in the future. Until then I have made the conscious choice to use the reuasble k-cup filter with green mountain coffee. Takes more time but makes me feel better knowing I am not filling lanfills with k-cups. I know it is a small thing, but important to me. When you come up with an eco-friendly cup I will buy in bulk!!
Thanks for all you do!
Refilling K-cups, take 2: The My-Kap reusable lid…
One of the most popular posts on this site is the one I did on refilling K-Cups, the single-serve coffee “pods” used in Keurig brewers. I outlined a method for re-using K-Cups by using plastic wrap. It works, but the……
I was glad to see that GMC has a comment thread on this. I can’t tell you how much I love my coffee maker, but am dismayed by the amount of plastic that I throw away. If they figured out a way to make the cups out of recyclable plastic, I would gladly pay more and would instantly be buying all of my coffee from GMC. I know quite a few people who also would be interested in buying the coffee maker if the recyclable cups were available! Not having them turns a super cool product into something that’s almost embarrassing to own! Please help on this issue!
K-Cup and other single-use pods: the waste issue, again…
Keurig and other single-use coffee providers are still tackling the issue of waste, and K-Cups still come out as the most eco-conscious choice….
The single reason I have not yet adopted the K-cup system is because I am concerned about the ecological impact of throwing one plastic cup into a landfill every day. I will never compromise my responsibility to society for personal convenience. Manufacturing, using, and then disposing of K-cups as presently proscribed is not a sustainable practice and until keurig can manufacture a product that uses pointedly less energy to produce and is completely renewable, I unfortunately will not be getting behind what is a fantastic idea.
I just noticed that this post was started in 2008, over two years ago. Any new updates on recyclable k-cups?
Hello,
I am using the reusable My K-cup for use with the Kuerig Elite single cup coffee maker. I was wondering if you sell coffee at the right size to brew in the cup. For some reason no matter how fine or how coarse I grind my coffee it makes a mess with the coffee leaking out of the sides of the reusable filter and not draining through the filter properly.
What is the plastic from the KCUPS made from? If it’s a plastic like a #7, which is a mix of plastics then most places recycle the cups. Just as long as there is a #7 on the cup. Any clue on what they are made from and why there isn’t a #7 on the cup?
I work for a municipality that has these machines all across the various departments, serving the better part of 500 employees, and I cringe to think how many Green Mountain Kcups are tossed into the rubbish each day. Please please try hard to find a solution to this quandry.
Is there any update on recyclable/biodegradable cups? My co-workers purchased one of these machines for our office and it makes me very sad. We already had a drip coffee maker and french press at work but someone wanted to get fancy.
I wonder how many K cups are swirling around in the Pacific Gyre? Can you update us on the project to make K cups more sustainable? Or else could manufacturers take them back once they’re used?
PS Thank you for providing a fair trade, organic option.
So I’m not alone. I am also very concerned about this. I received a maker as a gift for Christmas because I really enjoy coffee. I tend to waste a lot from brewing a whole pot just for myself. The K-Cup idea is great *except* they are not recyclable. Thats one big negative in my book. Its hard to believe in this day that something is not recyclable.
Once the K-Cup I have are gone I will just use Folgers coffee in the basket until I see some way to recycle these things.
I too received a Kuerig for Christmas and did not even consider for a minute that the k-cups were not able to be recycled. It’s only be a few days and it’s killing me to throw these in the trash. I drink decaf and my husband drinks regular so this was the perfect fit for our coffee drinking lifestyle. We each have 2 cups a day – 1400 k-cups in a landfills.
I think I’m retiring the coffee maker too… at least until I see a green initiative in place for these k-cups! Hurry… PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We enjoy the convenience of k cups and our Keurig, as do our adult children and young grandchildren having the cocoa. I am very concerned with the plastic leaching chemicals into our drinks though and the long term effects it could have on our health.
Do the cups containBFAs? Did you test the hot water with the acids released in coffee and teas to see if the final product we drink by using the k cup has any toxic plastic byproducts in it? Thank you for your time and research to make your product even better.
As a physician, an ongoing concern I have is about the safety of K-cups. Remember that these are heated to near boiling with there interior – in effect – being washed out by the hot coffee we then drink. Has any analysis of the resulting beverage examined the concentrations of contaminants that are thereby introduced?
Hello,
I am in the same boat as others. I GLADLY received a Keurig brewer for Christmas. I really wanted one after enjoying a cup at a friend’s house. I DID NOT know the K-cups were unable to be recycled. It took me about 2 days to get depressed and disgusted by the waste. I SO love my FRESH FRESH coffee, as I like another respondant waste when I brew a pot. Seeing that this post is 2 and half years old…PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE update us on the current status of the environmental impact of the K-cups. I would think that there have been some developments?
Thank you for your time and insight…plus the fair trade/organic coffees.
I had a Keorig and would do 900 k-cups a year – about 2.5 cups a day. I stopped using it when I realized that I (an avid recycler) was tossing close to a thousand plastic cups into landfills. I would guess that is about average for all coffee drinkers with some people averaging a cup a day, or less, while others averaging 3-5 cups. I have no idea how many of these machines have been bought but if a million people throw away 900 k-cups a year…that’s 9 billion of these things tossed into landfills every ten years. If 10 million people use these world-wide? 90 billion plastic cups into the earth every decade. That’s just criminal behavior on behalf of all these companies because you just know this issue (and statistics) came up in company meetings over and over again). I went back to small coffee brewer with large bags of grounds. My Keorig, given as a gift, was great and lasted about a year and half until the menu went “HAL” on me and the replacement one took about 1 to 2 minutes to spit out the water into a cup. I was going to contact company to ask for new machine again but the recycle issue is what made me decide to just go back to a little brewer with big bag of coffee beans. It’s cheaper (coffee and electricity), easy (I can make multiple cups at the same time into a coffee pot), and a thousand times better for the earth. There is NO reason, other than profits, that a biodegradable k-cup couldn’t be made. NO way that brewing coffee in plastic is better than some other biodegradable container. Piping hot products made with any type of plastic has been a health issue with microwaving. No doubt you’ll hear the same with this product down the road. I’ll buy a Keorig again when the first company puts out a responsible k-cup.
We won a keurig machine and I will be getting rid of it asap as I am already completely aware of the billions of k-cups already in our landfills. It is absolutely disgusting how lazy people are that they cannot make a pot of coffee. It is truly sad that products like this are even put on the market in modern times without already being green and sustainable. I would consider the solofill but then we are making coffee multiple times a morning instead of just once. Kind of defeats the purpose! Get it together people!
I thought that maybe recycled cardboard would work? Like that super compressed cardboard? I got one for I gift too and it haunts me that I have to throw these cups away :(
We need a gadget we can pop a spend k-cup into, press a lever, and have it disassembled into its constituents. I’d love those grounds for my garden. I tried cutting one with a sharp knife, and it’s just too risky an operation to do with the frequency of my coffee drinking. (The first 300 times will be fine, and then I’ll stab my hand).
I guess if it just severed the lid, the user could bang the grounds out. Maybe this doesn’t need to be a gadget, just a suggestion for something safer than a knife. Not that the grounds have any significant environmental impact compared to the plastic and metal.
I’m not normally environmentally conscious to a respectable amount, but I have considered the issue of k-cup generation and it’s prolific. It’s some fraction of the plastic water bottle issue.
Please update your consumers regarding the status of:
1. The content of BPA ( or other toxic chemicals) in the k-cups and their leaching into the beverages.
2. The progress on getting a recyclable K-cup.
Thank you.
I love my K-cup maker, but I too have given considerable thought to the disposable
cups in the trash. I too have tried to disassemble them to no avail. Is there some
way for an environmentally friendly company such as yours to make a recyclable k-cup? Then we would all be happy :)
Maybe Green Mountain can offer the same coffee offerings, but in more of a teabag form that can be used in conjunction with the My KCup. I have a My K Cup and I think it is a great sustainable solution, but I would miss the variety that the KCups offer. If GM could make biodegradable pouches of coffee/tea that could be emptied into the My K Cup, or make all-enclosed filter bags that could go into the My KCup filter holder, that would help. I realize that these solutions don’t keep the grounds airtight or perfct tasting forever, but its worth it to make this environmental change.
Doug, no matter how many people love your product, it sounds like you have no answer. Your product is just as environmentally unfriendly as some of the worst products out there. By the way, your coffee tastes terrible.
Hello,
Have you changed the packaging of your k cups yet? I hear so many bad things about the plastic #7 that I not using any k cups now.
Thank you
I recently started using k cups as a gift I received for Christmas. I love the concept but hate the huge footprint. I REALLY wish the plastic was at least biodegradable in landfill in 5 years. Not sure why that’s not possible because I work for a company that makes products made of plastics that ARE biodegradable in landfill in 5 years. Taking them apart to recycle them is a pain. I’ll just use the reusable basket and see if that works. I hope you figure it out.