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this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2025
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Sadly the two aren't exclusive, pods come in addition to the coffee beans. I'm not a lifecycle or logistic experts but my intuition is that the smaller and most durable the package, the harder it is to both produce and recycle.
To clarify, I'm not saying importing anything from around the World is fine, only that if you do so (as I do) better not to do so in the most bulk way possible.
If you do have a link that shows that either/or show
I'd be shocked but maybe there is some supply chain or scale piece I didn't take into account.
The pods are recycled. If you toss everything else into your recycling bin and have faith in that, you should have the same faith for the pods, they're aluminum.
First search, first link, "In the US, only about 2% of aluminum capsules are actually recycled, meaning most end up in landfills." https://bruvi.com/blogs/articles/mythbusters-the-truth-about-recyclable-pods so I wouldn't exactly say it works. They are theoretically recyclable, YES, but are they recycled? According to that link no. In fact a lot, the largest marketshare, of pods are NOT aluminum, they are plastic, and this https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/coffee-pods-and-capsules-market say that 5% are actually recycled.
Also, I don't know if you've been to an office but my experience with such machines have been terrible, namely the machine itself breaks (OK, not ideal but maintenance should fix it) but more importantly very often the pods do NOT get put in the right bins.
So it's a huge difference between recyclability, or the potential of being recycled, and ACTUALLY being recycled. I'm not necessary blaming the industry there, maybe not even the people who do genuinely put it in the right garbage bin, I'm only highlighting that from the numbers I've found, it's not happening.
Anyway, even if those links were a lie or incorrect and even if my own experience was more than anecdotal, namely an outlier (I've been to few offices but still, maybe not random, just unlucky) then the basic reasoning is still pretty obvious :
Again if you take 1kg of grain and you fold it in the trash vs side by side you take 1kg equivalent of pods the volume is striking.
Still, as I mentioned earlier, maybe I don't get whole picture so if you have an actual study I'd like to learn. While searching I did read the argument that pods do extract more coffee per volume of coffee so that was interesting, but it's only a part of the equation, hence why LCAs (life cycle assessment, with actual recycling data, not recyclability) are so important, not our own individual perspectives.
Yes and that's true for all recycling. In Montreal the pods are put in special green bags and then put in recycling so my consuming of a crop from the other side of the world is greenwashed and therefore OK.
So I can observe the mental gymnastics to justify consuming a product from the other side of the world is quite entertaining. "But Keurig is plastic!"
So as you do, first search, first link
https://www.carbonclick.com/news-views/the-environmental-impact-of-coffee-growing-and-transportation
OK I don't think we are having a conversation so ending this now, take care.