What started as a single-serving beverage brewing system targeting the office market has grown into the standard by which people make coffee at home, in waiting rooms, at convenience stores and in the workplace, but these things are an eco-disaster.

How Coffee Pods Came to Dominate!

Single-serving coffee pods and their related brewing machines are the second most popular brewing system after standard drip coffee makers, with 25 percent of American coffee drinkers using them in 2015, beating out instant coffee and ready-to-drink coffee beverages. Soon expected to totally overtake standard roast, ground and instant coffee with a whopping 30 percent sector increase in the U.K., coffee pods and capsules continue their rise to the standard in hot beverage consumption. While the category’s metonymic capsules and pods have disrupted the way coffee is produced and consumed, the market no longer ends there. Single-serving pod-based beverages now include hot chocolate, ciders, fruit drinks, teas, cold brew coffee, iced tea, even beer and Jell-O shots. This rapid market growth is despite the environmental implications that have put the category under fire for the exorbitant amount of waste they create, the component make-up of which is fast-tracked for the landfill or the incinerator. Comprised of plastics, aluminum, foil, and paper components that require separating and additional processing due to contact with food and beverage substances, these items are not recyclable in the current infrastructure.

Why aren’t coffee and beverage pods recyclable?

The hard truth is most of the product and packaging waste we create falls outside the scope of municipal recycling. Where the economics of waste dictate that an item will only be recycled if it is profitable to do so, coffee and beverage pods are the precise opposite of profitable; not only is collection and processing of these mixed component products quite costly to begin with, potential contamination of recycled materials at recycling facilities due to a rogue pod creates a negative cost for municipalities. In this fast-paced culture of convenience that prompts people to purchase these brewing systems in the first place, it is highly unlikely that their users will sit down to separate the pods’ component parts. But even those who want to have their coffee quick and eco-friendly, too, and do set aside the time and effort to take apart the plastic, metal, paper and compostable coffee grinds may be doing so to no end; these components parts are so small that most recycling facilities are not able to capture them. It is clear that these mixed-component items cause a lot of waste (in 2013, enough of one brand of coffee capsules were produced that, if placed end-to-end, they would circle the Earth 10.5 times), but people continue to use them in a world where convenience is currency. The coffee pod industry purports that the controlled water temperature and pressure, exact measurement of coffee or tea per pod, internal filter and air tight pod structure delivered by this type of single-serving system creates the “perfect cup” with precision. The jury may be out on that one, but the fact remains that these little pods cause a big waste problem.

What Can be Done to Recycle Coffee Pods?

For the eco-conscious consumers who use coffee pods, work in an environment that uses them, or simply want to spread the word, there are custom solutions available. TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Boxes provides an accessible option for consumers, offices, schools and more, to solve for this waste stream and contribute to a more sustainable landscape. Zero Waste Boxes solve for capsule and pod waste, and many other waste streams that cannot be recycled through curbside.

Read more: Why K-Cup (Coffee Pod) Recycling is Not Enough

To get started, you can order your custom category separation Zero Waste Box from TerraCycle. Once received, TerraCycle recommends placing recycling boxes in a high traffic area where coffee capsules are used and typically thrown away. When the recycling box is full, the liner must be tightly closed inside the box prior to shipping. Once the top of the box is sealed securely with packing tape, it can be placed in the designated shipping area to be sent back to TerraCycle. When TerraCycle receives the box, the adhesive packing will be recycled into new, innovative products, like park benches, chairs, watering cans and even paving stones. We are sitting on a mountain of coffee pods, so solving for their waste can seem like an uphill battle. But recognizing the problem and being aware of a solution is the most important ingredient for galvanizing action and structural change. If you still have them lying around, here are 17 ways to upcycle of all the coffee pods.

Whether you like it or not, bottled water is here to stay. It’s portable, accessible and a convenient way to stay healthy with fresh, purified water every day. Unfortunately, Americans throw out around 60 million of these plastic bottles every single day. Thankfully there are plenty of ways to stem the tide of this massive waste stream. By making simple, versatile swaps, you can stay hydrated all year without ever touching a disposable water bottle again. While Traveling It’s important to be mindful of your intake of liquids while traveling, no matter the weather. By replacing your disposable water bottle with a refillable alternative throughout your travels, you can even circumvent some of the rules and regulations that come with exploring in transit. For example, TSA regulations stipulate that liquid carry-on items can be no larger than 3.4 oz. per item—everyone forgets that water bottles fall into this category! Unopened or not, standard sizes for bottled water averages at around 17 oz., or five times that maximum. Airport security will not allow full water bottles, but an empty reusable bottle can be filled once you go through. Many airports even have water stations especially built to fill your bottle to the top with clean, filtered water. For Sports From professional leagues and the neighborhood team, to the high school intramural and little league sports, athletes need a lot of water, and they need it to be accessible. Before games, during practice and after matches are all good times to take a sip, whether your sport has you flying solo or chasing glory in a group, indoors and outdoors. Bottled water can be easy to cart around and dole out to the crowd, but there are other ways to get your drink on with clean, nourishing H2O. If you’re an athlete or even just watching the game, bring a reusable water bottle to events. Even better: get a reusable bottle with a built-in water filter and refill at the tap. Athletes and their fans consume water at such a rate that larger quantities need to be available, and bottles aren’t the only answer. Getting a faucet filtration system, or a water pitcher or dispenser with a filter like those sold by PUR, can easily fill up a 5-gallon water cooler and other water bottles present at the game. At Parties There’s always a reason to come together or celebrate year-round, especially during the fall and holiday seasons, and the most important part of any gathering is refreshments. Handing out bottles of water from the cooler or fridge can be a convenient way to keep your guests sipping, but keeping something like a PUR water pitcher with a filter allows guests to write their name on a cup and refill it over and over. A faucet adapter is another convenient way to keep guests happy and hydrated. Making big quantities of drinks like lemonade or punch is a breeze with a renewing supply of filtered water. At Concerts and Festivals Live music and outdoor events like concerts and festivals have the makings of incredible lifelong memories, but if you don’t eat and hydrate right, you’re going to have a bad time. Standing in line, walking in the sun, dancing it out and holding your spot by the barricade takes its toll on the body, and the most important thing you can do is keep your fluids up. Bottled water and other concessions are sold at most events of this type, but as one could imagine, disposable products tend to litter the ground at large events and festivals. Thankfully, many concerts and festivals now allow you to bring in a refillable Camelback or bottle, and have on-sight refilling stations. Keep in mind that event staff may not always allow you to bring a full bottle of any liquid into the venue, so you may want to keep your refillable bottles empty when going through security, and refilling once inside. At Home We are made of 50 – 65% water and need to replenish it constantly, no matter what we are doing or where we are. Whether its dinner or game night, filtered water is a healthy, affordable way to keep you hydrated without accumulating a pile of plastic bottles in your trash bin. As an added bonus, companies like PUR offer water filtration systems such as pitchers, faucet adapters and refill packs that are even recyclable through TerraCycle. You stay hydrated, save money, and the waste is diverted from the landfill. Be it glass, insulated, stainless steel or BPA-free plastic, reusable alternatives to bottled water come in all shapes and sizes. What’s your favorite?

Consumers care about recycling. In a survey conducted for Packaging Digest’s 2015 Sustainable Packaging Study, 57% of participants cite a product’s recyclability to be top of mind when it comes to the environment and sustainability, a product featuring recycled content and reduced packaging coming up for second and third place. The majority of consumers see recyclability as the most important factor in choosing sustainable products, and it is consumers that ultimately drive company behavior. However, the recyclability of a waste output depends on the degree of access the average consumer has to its solution; the solution to which the average consumer has the most access is their local recycling facility. Only if it can profit from the processing and selling of the materials will a local recycling facility collect a waste stream, which occurs if the collection and processing of said items costs less than what they can be sold for. Thus, most products and packaging are considered non-recyclable in the current municipal infrastructure due to economics. Companies seek to address consumer concerns and market trends by working to make their products municipally recyclable, and one of the methods companies use to do so is to create or join an industry coalition. An industry coalition is a pact among firms in a market for a common interest. In this method, companies form an alliance to work with recyclers to accept their materials. Like a sort of lobbyist group, an industry coalition aims to influence decisions about the processes that affect their special interest, which in this case the municipal recyclability of the companies’ products and packaging. Industry coalitions working with municipal recycling can work, but only in two circumstances. The first is when the material is inherently valuable, but falls outside the waste management infrastructure. In most cases, municipal recycling facilities (MRFs) already recycle these waste streams, and the collecting and processing the material is less than the value of the recovered material, making it profitable for MRFs to recycle the product. Take the Carton Council of North America. In 2009, milk, soup, and juice cartons made from paper, plastic, and sometimes aluminum were only municipally recyclable for 18% of Americans due to the mixed nature of the carton materials. To divert cartons from landfills by way of making them municipally recyclable, members Elopack, Evergreen, SIG Combibloc and Tetrapak came together in 2009 to form the Carton Council, enlisting the help of recycling and logistics experts, building processing infrastructure, developing end of life markets, and promoting consumer awareness through partnerships with schools. By 2015, 57% of American households could recycle cartons, either through single stream recycling or grouped with plastics, metals, and glass. One of the main reasons for the success of the Carton Council is that recycling cartons for their component materials is inherently cost effective for the high quality fiber, polyethylene and aluminum recovered from the recycling process; cartons have now received their own material grades. Consumer perception of Carton Council manufacturers also had a positive impact on the effectiveness of the initiative, which was aided by a public willingness to capture materials for processing. The second scenario in which industry coalitions working with MRFs succeed is when legislation drives change through mandated guide, like the ban of plastic bag use in San Francisco in 2007; consumers were charged 10 cents per bag, creating cost incentives to use reusable bags, and other municipalities followed suit. Today, 36 states in the U.S. have now enacted legislation regarding the use and disposal of film plastic bags, and 91 and 93% of U.S. population has access to plastic bag recycling through curbside or nearby collection programs. Instead of and in combination with industry coalitions and changing material composition (which allows companies to use existing recycling infrastructure, but at high cost), companies can also work outside the currently inefficient municipal recycling infrastructure, and develop their own. My company TerraCycle works with companies like Colgate and Febreze that aim to solve for their product and packaging waste and make what was previously unrecyclable nationally recyclable through sponsored recycling programs. Infrastructure changes at the private and municipal level are not without cost, nor are they without challenges. But companies willing to pay a premium to take responsibility for their waste pay for the collection and processing of their materials so that they can be sold as a marketable resource. When companies streamline the recycling process by developing end of life solutions for things like used toothbrushes and empty air fresheners, as well as new recycling techniques and technologies, their waste can become profitable to recycle. Industry coalitions can solve for waste while working within current recycling infrastructure, but finding new solutions that move us towards a more comprehensive, regenerative system provides companies and municipalities more room for the innovation of new waste management technologies. There are clearly solutions for difficult-to-recycle waste streams when companies provide the resources necessary to make them possible, and consumers have the influence to reward those companies with their wallets.

The global market for coffee pods and capsules expanded 16 percent in 2015, the significance of which is dwarfed by the 30 percent sector increase for the category in the U.K. alone, where projections estimate £137.5 million in supermarket sales. Soon to overtake standard roast, ground and instant coffee, according a study from Kantar Worldpanel, coffee pods and capsules continue their rise to the standard in hot beverage consumption, “The Clooney Effect” playing no small part in this continuing market trend.   And it doesn’t stop at coffee and tea. The capsule and pod technologies that so successfully disrupted the hot beverage industry for the greater part of a decade have been since applied to a burgeoning number of food and drink categories, turning food and drink into the most profitable business since software. Beer-drinkers who want something beyond a home brewing kit can turn to a modulated beer machine that uses prepackaged pods to brew a cold batch. Pod technology for Jell-O shots have been marketed for the B2B (bars and catering) and B2C markets, cutting down on the time it takes to make the novelty items, and the space taken up in your fridge.   On the opposite side of the spectrum, a baby formula manufacturer has developed a system featuring capsules containing differentiated and optimized nutrition for every stage of an infant’s development. “Organic, fresh tortillas” individually pressed and cooked from pods containing a ball of dough (inserted into a machine are now available for your home, because the manufacturer says “best way to enjoy a tortilla is right after it has been freshly baked and is still warm.” The list goes on of new start-ups and inventions that aim to do for their respective markets that the pod system did for coffee.   Though the proliferation of this kind of trending technology is easily dismissed as being “trendy,” these kinds of innovations address a need in the market that is only confirmed by consumer behavior. Pods and capsules do not exist in a vacuum; where there are problems in need of solutions, pods and capsules are in a position to provide. And consumers are buying them.   Convenience is currency, as is time and ease of use, but what of innovation? Consumers are becoming more interested in health food trends, food science, and access to quality food experiences in the home, and the disruptive nature of pods and capsules create a new space in the food and drink market.   But even more so now that it has been clearly demonstrated that people will not abstain from capsule and pod technologies, despite their environmental implications, what the compact contraptions mean for sustainability is a considerable issue. The pods are not recyclable in the current infrastructure due to their component parts. Comprised of plastics, aluminum and sometimes paper, a person would need to separate and take the pods apart in order to effectively recycle the elements in their respective bins; in this fast-paced culture of convenience, it is safe to say that few pod-users would not consider this step. Further, contact with food and beverage would mean that most municipal recycling facilities would require this waste to undergo additional processing so as to not contaminate recycled batches.   However, consumers do have recycling options for their beverage capsule and pod waste. My company TerraCycle solves for nearly every type of waste through our premium Zero Waste Box solution, including coffee capsules. Simply fill with coffee and beverage pods and send back to TerraCycle using the pre-paid shipping label. Consumers can enjoy the convenience and innovation of this turn-key recycling solution as they do pod and capsule technology. While these disruptive innovators in the food and additional beverage markets remain start-ups in the beginning stages of growth, end-of-life solutions can be developed early to prevent unnecessary waste from negatively impacting the planet. Innovative, sustainable solutions for waste can be worked into the product function from the start, inventing the most efficient, environmentally sound ways to accommodate the world’s changing lifestyles.

Competitive school science fairs are a motif in the grade school education story. Often requiring a significant investment on the part of parents, the circumstances in which students must produce a contending project can create more stress than interest for the sciences and environmental studies. When the supposed purpose of these projects is to stoke young people’s fire for science and prepare them to be active participants in addressing present and future environmental issues, how can we update the traditional science project structure to better educate our future stewards? Essential to the current school science project model are in-classroom support from teachers and mentors and the empowerment of children and young adults with the knowledge that their impact on our eco-infrastructures is real and immediate. Administering a science project that addresses pressing environmental issues and identification of their challenges presents a hands-on stake in sustainability for students, inspiring problem-solving and an authentic picture of science’s role in it. This past June, I had the opportunity to judge on a panel for the Green Your School Fund, a science competition that primes for just that kind of innovation. Calling upon schools nationwide to come up with innovative projects that will help make their school and community more sustainable, TerraCycle brand partner Tom’s of Maine teamed up with Donors Choose to match all public cash donations during the process of each project, which each called for a list of resources and equipment ranging from a tablet for classroom use, plankton nets and compost bins to camcorders, light meters and more. The following schools are among the 10 finalists up for public vote through October, from which winners will be named to receive a cash prize allocation to further pursue and expand their science project. "How would you like to help us make our favorite summer swimming lake safe to swim in?" was a challenge posed at Pinewood Elementary in Jenison, Mich. Literally and figuratively “testing the waters,” this is a science project that gives young people an opportunity to make a difference in the community in which they live, and use multiple learning techniques including research, logical deduction, data collection and iterative learning. Another Michigan elementary school aims to educate its community on the effect of plastic pollution on water systems by quantifying exactly how far it has penetrated local rivers and lakes. Sport fishing is a significant revenue stream in the area and people eat the fish caught out of the local watershed, which is potentially full of microplastics. The elementary school group has been working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency, The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and the NE Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiativeto answer the question, "Could we be eating our own plastic waste?" Meanwhile, a school in Memphis, Tenn. wants to increase the efficiency of time spent by its group of student energy auditors called the Green Team. So far, the Green Team has spent several hours this year doing an initial energy audit of all of the rooms in the school. This consisted of the students observing what they saw, taking the lighting levels, temperature, humidity, and giving recommendations on how to make the room more energy efficient, giving them a sense of authority and immersing them in the math and science of energy efficiency. Like “real-life” science and environmental efforts, experiments and tests on the scholastic level require resources such as equipment and funding. Programs that work this realistic challenge into the science project structure do students, teachers and future generations the added justice of equipping them with an understanding of the economics of sustainability. The schools and teachers committed to providing students with an innovative, useful immersion of concepts and methods that allow them to seek out and solve sustainability problems at a young age are often doing so with limited resources, demonstrating their own dedication to problem solving. Now more than ever, environmental science education is an integral part of planning for a more sustainable future, and school science projects need not be a waste of time (and materials!), but a touchstone for future stewards in making the world a greener place.

The future is uncertain. As the global population is projected to hit 9 billion by 2050, tensions over resources like food, water and energy are likely to swell along with it. Meanwhile, earth has reached what scientists deem the climate tipping point — and evidence suggests the carbon concentrations in our atmosphere may be permanent. As these chilling realities set in, thought leaders the world over begin to examine new economic models that can offer solutions. One such model, known as the circular economy, is particularly promising. For business, the circular economy is a system in which there is no waste — only promise. Waste generated during manufacturing and at end of useful life is recaptured and made into new products. Those products can then be recycled again, keeping the circle in motion and eliminating the need for virgin feedstocks. A true circular economy is still a long way off. But forward-thinking companies are inching closer to making it a reality. Read on for seven case studies that are sure to inspire. 7. TerraCycle   Almost everyone knows they should recycle that plastic bottle or aluminum can rather than toss it in the trash. But some materials are tougher to recycle, meaning their recovery rates remain abysmally low. One company, TerraCycle, is out to change that by making it easier for people and businesses to recapture hard-to-recycle material and put it to good use. Through its brigade programs, TerraCycle collects hard-to-recycle waste ranging from office staples like energy bar wrappers and snack food bags to niche items like juice pouches and instrument strings. It even has a brigade for cigarette butts, which remain America’s most littered item and have few recycling options. The company partners with other conscious firms, such as Clif Bar and Colgate, to make the programs free for the user. Folks who recycle through TerraCycle can even earn rewards, which translate into money for their school or a favorite nonprofit. The company also offers paid bulk recycling solutions for businesses that recapture “almost every form of waste.”

  Dive Brief:  

• Target will be joining The Recycling Partnership as its first retail company member. The nonprofit says that with this addition it now has members from all sides of the consumer recycling system: manufacturers, brands, retailers and the recycling industry.
• Funding from Target will help expand local curbside recycling options through grants, tools and specialized marketing. 
• Since the beginning of 2015, the nonprofit has spurred $21 million of new recycling infrastructure for more than two million households.

  Dive Insight:   The Recycling Partnership now has more than 20 major corporate members and has been rolling out new initiatives at a rapid pace this year. The nonprofit recently announced a new initiative with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) to perform a comprehensive analysis of the recovery landscape, teamed up with the Environmental Protection Agency on a curbside study and released free online open source tools for communities. In addition, they also plan to place more than 300,000 recycling carts in the coming months.   "Target joining signals a new era for our organization, as we are officially supported by the whole system," said Keefe Harrison, executive director of The Recycling Partnership, in a press release. "More than that, Target brings specific expertise in meeting the needs of the many guests to their stores, and through our work together that insight will translate into better recycling programs for more consumers across the country."   This announcement is part of an ongoing sustainability push by Target which includes redesigning packaging of store-brand items, reducing emissions and reducing waste. The retailer set a goal of reducing waste 15% by 2015 though did not achieve it. In addition to this new membership, Target is also part of the SPC and recently worked with TerraCycle on a take back program for car seats.  

Office Depot, partnered with TerraCycle, will offer binder recycling at its stores. Shoppers can bring old empty binders to Office Depot or Office Max and receive a $2 coupon good toward the purchase of a new binder. TerraCycle will recycle the binders; there is a limit of six per household.

The Music Store in St George is hosting a free guitar string recycling event to recycle old and used guitar strings Friday, October 7 at 3:00 p.m. Musicians can bring in their old strings for recycling, as well as get their electric or acoustic guitars restrung with new strings, furnished by D'Addario, for free. Details about the instrument string recycling program can be found: http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/daddario-playback

Office Depot Inc., a provider of office products and services through its Office Depot and OfficeMax brands, has announced the launch of its “Binder RecyclingProgram,” which will allow shoppers to recycle old binders through a recycling company called TerraCycle. Currently, shoppers can bring any old empty binder to an Office Depot, or OfficeMax retail location, and receive a $2 instant discount off a same-day binder purchase. “We’re excited to partner with TerraCycle this back-to-school season as parents, teachers and students prepare for the school year with new supplies,” Ron Lalla, executive vice president of merchandising for Office Depot Inc., stated. “The program provides a way to recycle binders in an environmentally conscious way, while also offering a discount to shoppers who are looking for new ones.” Shoppers will receive $2 off the purchase of any new binder when they recycle any binder in the same transaction, according to Office Depot. The discount will apply only to binders purchased, and will not be applied to any free binders with a purchase, and multipacks will count as one. Visit officedepot.com/recyclebinders for additional information regarding the program.