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K-Cup's New Recovery Project: Grounds to Grow On
Coffee For Less Blog

K-Cup's New Recovery Project: Grounds to Grow On

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There’s no doubt about it: the single-serving coffee trend is steaming hot. A survey conducted in 2014 found that nearly thirty percent of java drinkers are now brewing their coffee one cup at a time. And the most popular purveyor of these single-serving coffee makers is undoubtedly Keurig, with their K-Cup coffee machines.

K-Cup Waste: A Complex Issue

Taken separately, the components of a K-Cup coffee unit are all recyclable or compostable, at least in theory. But as a unit, they’re certainly not what you’d call environmentally friendly. Individual users could take them apart and compost the grounds and recycle the foil lids, but how many of us would do that on a daily basis? After all, convenience is one of the main appeals of the K-Cups coffee system.

Keurig K-Cup Introduces Grounds to Grow On

Keurig is sensitive to its customers’ concerns, so they've launched a new initiative called “Grounds to Grow On.” Under this program, workplaces (and soon, consumers) can opt to send their used K-Cups of coffee back to the company, where they’re burned as fuel. Company representatives admit that it’s a less than perfect solution, but it’s certainly better than all those coffee pods ending up in landfills.

2020 and Beyond: What Happens to the K-Cup Market?

So what does the future hold for Keurig Green Mountain, when it comes to sustainability for its k-cup coffee? The company has been working on coming up with a solution that will keep coffee fresh, without such a sizable environmental footprint. Paper K-Cups were considered as a possible option, but the company’s R&D department found that they didn't keep the coffee fresh long enough to make it to consumers’ mugs. Keurig’s goal is to make all of its single-use beverage pods recyclable by 2020. Its Vue and K-Carafe pods are more environmentally friendly, and are accepted by its newer Keurig 2.0 machines, but the many owners of its older devices aren't able to take advantage of these advances, which aren't backwards-compatible.

SEE ALSO: Easily Recycle Your K-Cups With Zero Waste Boxes From TerraCycle



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