K-cup coffee pods are very easy, very convenient. Which is why we buy 10 billion of them every year, enough to encircle our planet 10 – 12 times. The package says “recycleable” (at least the plastic portion), but the problem is that they often are not. That’s because the machines in recycling plants can’t process items that small. So they go into the landfill instead, which the Earth hates.
One bright note is the small program in Canada that turns them into cement. They dry out the K-cups, shred them, then burn them up at 2000 degrees Celsius. The ashes are turned into cement.
Although this is a small program, it offers hope. We aren’t going to give up our K-cups, except those of us who can handle reusable ones. We must, therefore, find a way to recycle them. Come on, scientists—Get with it!
