So the buzz word seems to be “recyclable”. Without it nothing seems to be important. In the world of coffee all things used to be recyclable for we brewed coffee grounds in a paper filter and when done the grounds and paper could be thrown into food waste and all was good. With the invention of single serve products all that changed. No longer was one choice satisfactory, in an office, for everyone had to have their own taste available to them. How do you accomplish this when brewing a whole pot or thermos at a time, you brew one cup at a time. But now the problem was recyclability. No longer brewing a full thermos meant no longer able to brew a paper filter and coffee grounds worthy of recyclability. And thus the dilemma many see as a huge problem, the waste generated by using single serve coffees. What can be done?
The manufacturers, despite many person’s views on the matter, have not sat by quietly while this problem grows. They have been working tirelessly on a recyclable container for the product and have finally made some significant progress. Starting later this year we will be using a recyclable plastic Kcup container that you will be able to put into the plastic recycling and have disposed of in the normal manner. Of course this means you will have to remove the foil top and grounds inside but then the plastic is recyclable. So that is the crutch of this situation, doing the work yourself! If you do not want to do it then recyclability is still just a dream. Until we have a compostable product that can go into landfills with no problems whatsoever we will always have an issue with mounds of waste. It is funny how humans can generate so much waste yet the earth and nature carefully dispose of everything they produce!
Stay tuned as more developments occur on this front for I am sure we are not done yet.