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GIZMODO.COMYour Keurig Coffee Pods Are Never Getting RecycledFrida Garza, Grist Published December 22, 2024 | Comments (0) | An assortment of Keurig K-cup pods Lester Balajadia/Shutterstock Theres a Keurig machine in some 40 million households in the U.S. Single-serve coffee brewing systems which allow consumers to make just one cup of coffee at a time by feeding a pod into a slot and pressing a button have soared in popularity since the early 2000s. Inevitably, this leads to a lot of trash. Every cup of java brewed creates a conundrum: what to do with the coffee pod that produced it. To start, can it be recycled? The answer, in Keurigs case, is not really. The companys single-use coffee pods also known as K-cups are made of polypropylene plastic, a material that experts warn is not as recyclable as consumers have been led to think. Two of the countrys largest recycling companies have said they do not accept K-cup pods, and one environmental group calculated that if you lined up all the K-cup pods in the worlds landfills side by side, they would comfortably circle the globe 10 times. A new coffee pod company claims to have developed a solution to Keurigs plastic waste problem. Cambio Roasters, which launched in September, offers a Keurig-compatible coffee pod thats made out of aluminum which, unlike plastic, is infinitely recyclable. Cambio is led by a team of former Keurig employees, including founder and CEO Kevin Hartley, who was previously a chief innovation officer at Keurig Green Mountain, as the company was formerly known. This is, in our view, the most exciting innovation in coffee since the K-cup, said Hartley during a launch-day press call for Cambio. Experts, however, arent sure that Cambio understands just how big of a problem K-cups pose to curbside recycling systems. Really, plastic is just not a good option, said Jeremy Pare, a visiting professor of business and environment at Duke Universitys Nicholas School of the Environment. But even aluminum, with all its benefits, is still going to have issues. Part of the difficulty of creating a truly recyclable packaging option for just about any consumer good is the severely fragmented nature of the American recycling landscape. There are over 10,000 recycling systems in the U.S., said Pare, who is also a member of the Plastic Pollution Working Group at Dukes Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability. And yet, at the same time, only a quarter of the population has access to recycling in the U.S. (Pare lives in one such community with no formal recycling program, just outside of Augusta, Maine.) In the U.S., the question of whether something is recyclable can only accurately be answered on a local level. Another problem is the plastic composition of most K-cup pods. Sustainability concerns have followed the Keurig brand closely as it has scaled. (Once a small startup, Keurig was acquired by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in 2006; in 2018, Keurig Green Mountain merged with Dr Pepper Snapple to become Keurig Dr Pepper.) Keurig started selling K-cups pods made of polypropylene in 2016, with the goal of making 100 percent of K-cup pods recyclable by 2020. But the company has run into trouble for touting recyclability. In 2018, a California resident sued Keurig for claiming that K-cup pods could be recycled after the foil lid was removed and the coffee grounds were rinsed or dumped out which resulted in Keurig agreeing to pay $10 million in a class-action settlement. And in September of this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Keurig for falsely claiming the pods can be effectively recycled. (Keurig settled the claim by agreeing to pay a $1.5 million penalty fee.) Hartley, who left Keurig in 2017, knew consumers wanted a plastic-free K-cup option and after years of prototypes and testing, he and his team settled on aluminum as an easier-to-recycle alternative. Aluminum is also impervious to oxygen, which causes coffee to lose its flavor over time. Whenever we brew a cup of coffee, it tastes exactly as the roastmaster intended, said Hartley. Cambio isnt the first single-serve coffee company to opt to ditch plastic or invest in circularity. Nespresso, a popular single-serve coffee company thats owned by the Nestl Group, has made its capsules out of aluminum for over 30 years. In 2020, Nespresso announced that its pods would be made of 80 percent recycled aluminum, and it claims its global recycling rate is 32 percent. But Nespresso pods only work in Nespresso machines. Because Cambio coffee pods are designed to work with Keurig models, Hartley hopes to give consumers what they want without having to buy a new brewer. Cambio also allows users to peel back the lid and dump out the grounds before recycling. Nespresso pod lids are difficult to remove, and the company instructs users to recycle their pods as is, grounds and all but theyre only approved for curbside recycling in New York City and Jersey City, where a designated recycling contractor cleans them out before reprocessing them. (Nespresso consumers can also mail used pods back to the manufacturer for recycling, or drop them off at Nespresso stores.) Unfortunately, swapping plastic for aluminum doesnt automatically solve K-cup pods recyclability crisis, experts say. What really prevents coffee pods, regardless of what theyre made of, from having a second life is their size. After collection, recyclables are sorted at a facility known as a materials recovery facility, or MRF. MRFs arent equipped to collect small items a common rule of thumb is that they cant handle anything smaller than a credit card and so small objects placed in recycling bins often wind up getting sent to landfills. The K-cups are so small that they fall through the machinery in many recycling facilities, said Pare. So other than separating coffee pods from the waste stream individually, theres no good way to recycle them. Cambios approach to working around this is two-pronged. First, the company says it wants consumers to stack used K-cup pods together and then pinch them closed to overcome many recycling facilities size requirements. Three or more used K-cup pods should create a piece of aluminum large enough to fit through the machinery at recycling facilities, says Hartley. (These instructions dont currently appear on Cambios packaging or website.) Cambio says it is also developing a device that will make this stacking and pinching of used K-cups easier. Think of this device as an easy way for consumers to bundle cups together and then toss into their recycling bin, said Hartley. He added that the company has filed for patents for second-generation Cambio pods that can be snapped together after use. Jan Dell, a chemical engineer and an environmental nonprofit founder, said, I dont think aluminum pods are a meaningful improvement, citing their small size as a barrier to being accepted and sorted via curbside recycling systems. Think of the pods like confetti: impossible to collect back up. Cambio disagreed with Dells characterization of the switch to aluminum, pointing out that currently, essentially no single-use plastic pods are recycled, whereas aluminum can be endlessly recycled. To Cambio and consumers, these two facts are meaningful. Hartley also shared that the work of ensuring Cambios compatibility with recycling programs across the country is ongoing. The company is planning to run tests with MRFs in specific markets as soon as feasible. In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson from Keurig Dr Pepper said, We know our consumers want simplicity and less waste. They shared that the company has been lightweighting our pods to reduce the amount of plastic used, as well as increasing options for recycling them, including a soon-to-be-launched program in which customers will be able to mail their used pods to Keurig for recycling. The spokesperson also said the company is continually exploring more sustainable packaging options. Dell leads the nonprofit The Last Beach Cleanup, which is focused on fighting plastic pollution. The ultimate solution to Keurigs plastic footprint, she said, is a product that eliminates the need to collect anything back from customers, like a fiber-based pod that can be composted along with the grounds. Keurig is currently testing a plant-based pod format that wont have any plastic or aluminum, and the company expects it to be certified compostable, according to the Keurig Dr Pepper spokesperson. Hartley said he worked on that product for many years, calling it an amazing innovation. But these coffee pucks, which are not yet available for sale, will require an entirely new machine to run. Its going to take a long time before America is going to throw away 40 or 50 million brewers and buy 40 or 50 million new brewers, said Hartley. He added, referring to his time with Keurig, I wont tell publicly how much money we spent to start from zero and have 50 million American households loving their Keurigs. But its a big lift, and it takes decades. In an interview with the Atlantic in 2015, the inventor of the K-cup said, I feel bad sometimes that I ever did it. As the market for single-serve coffee brewers grows, so will its impact on the environment, unless its products are somehow wildly reimagined and redesigned. Keurigs and Nespresso machines are marketed as both convenient and luxurious, a combination that is likely to keep drawing in new market segments. But eco-conscious coffee brewers can rest easy in the knowledge that you dont need a Keurig or Nespresso machine to brew one cup of coffee at a time; any coffee maker can be single-serve if you use only the water and coffee grounds you actually need. No pods required maybe just a filter. This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/food-and-agriculture/why-its-so-hard-to-create-a-truly-recyclable-keurig-coffee-pod/.Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org. Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like Lylla Younes, Grist Published December 14, 2024 Sharon Lerner and Al Shaw, ProPublica Published December 8, 2024 Anita Hofschneider, Grist Published August 27, 2024 By Adam Kovac Published August 23, 2024 Joseph Winters, Grist Published July 2, 2024 By Passant Rabie Published June 27, 20240 Commentarios 0 Acciones 5 Views
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WWW.YOUTUBE.COMHow to create and manage Grease Pencil 3.0 Brush Assets in BlenderGrease Pencil 3.0 brings a stack of workflow improvements. Brushes are now created, stored and managed as assets! Paul demonstrates how you should work with brushes now, and supplies a handful of his own custom brushes to help you along!https://cgcookie.com/downloads/paul-s-grease-pencil-3-0-brush-pack "WHO IS CG COOKIE?"We are real people! (OK, maybe some of us are cyborgs - we don't ask.) CG Cookie is a small crew of Blender artists, baking fresh videos for the Blender community. If you love what we do, consider enrolling to http://cgcookie.com to stream 100's of Blender courses with passionate Blender instructors there to answer your questions. "WHERE SHOULD I START LEARNING BLENDER?"For Blender beginners, we have a free tutorial series "Getting Started with Blender" https://rb.gy/khqdl7 "I WANT MORE CG COOKIE IN MY LIFE!"Got it. Here's where you can reach us!http://instagram.com/cgcookie http://twitter.com/cgcookie http://facebook.com/cgcookieinc Want Blender news in your mailbox? Sign up here for spam-free newsletter https://cgcookie.com/newsletter #CGCookie #blendertutorial #b3d0 Commentarios 0 Acciones 7 Views
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WWW.YOUTUBE.COMCinema 4D Snowglobe C4D + Redshift Project FileCinema 4D Snowglobe C4D + Redshift Project File https://cgshortcuts.com/christmas-snowglobe-in-cinema-4d Merry Christmas from CG Shortcuts!Includes models, materials and render settings.Download and use royalty-free in your own projects!#Cinema4D #C4D #Redshift #CGShortcuts0 Commentarios 0 Acciones 5 Views
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GAMERANT.COMZenless Zone Zero Leak Reveals Version 1.5 BannersRecent leaks from Zenless Zone Zero are hinting at the lineup of characters set to appear on the limited gacha banners during Version 1.5, including the RPG's first reruns. The beloved urban action game from HoYoverse has featured a variety of powerful characters for players to choose from, often shaking up the game's meta with its new releases. Version 1.4 saw the release of Miyabi rock the game's meta, quickly emerging as one of the strongest DPS characters, while past releases like Qingyi and Caesar have become staples. Now, Version 1.5's featured characters are being teased.0 Commentarios 0 Acciones 6 Views
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GAMERANT.COMMarvel Vs. Capcom Infinite Gets Major Player Count SpikeThanks to the release of a brand-new fanmade mod, Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite has gotten a big player boost on Steam. Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite is a crossover fighting game that once again pits Marvel Comics' superheroes against some of Capcom's legendary figures. While the return of the iconic crossover franchise was greatly anticipated, Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite was fraught with a very troubled development.0 Commentarios 0 Acciones 5 Views
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GAMERANT.COMKaiju No. 8 Season 2 Releases New Visual2024 was a big year for Kaiju No. 8 as the much awaited anime adaptation by Production I.G. As expected, the anime was a hit, and it received a lot of positive acclaim. Given the anime's success, an announcement regarding season two was imminent.0 Commentarios 0 Acciones 5 Views
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WWW.TECHRADAR.COMTrueNAS device vulnerabilities exposed during hacking competitionTrueNAS provided detailed instructions on how users can harden their systems and stay protected.0 Commentarios 0 Acciones 6 Views
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WWW.TECHRADAR.COMCould this be Dell's fastest laptop ever built? Dell Pro Max 18 Plus set to have 'RTX 5000 class' GPU capabilities and Tandem OLED displayDell Pro Max 18 Plus set to have 'RTX 5000 class' GPU capabilities and Tandem OLED display.0 Commentarios 0 Acciones 6 Views
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GAMINGBOLT.COMGTA 6 Where the Heck is the New Trailer?Another year, another Game Awards in the bin. Between the extensive ads, genuine surprises (Onimusha and Okami hype), and winners, there was more than enough to process and discuss among various fandoms.However, as noteworthy as the show felt for all the games that were present in some form or another, it was all the more sobering for those that were absent. And no, were not talking about Hollow Knight: Silksong, whose fans have somehow entered a new realm of suffering before the year is out, or Wonder Woman, which has received nothing since its announcement in 2021, or even the release date for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.Were talking about Grand Theft Auto 6. You know the one Rockstar Norths next magnum opus. The open-world game that will seemingly redefine the genre. It did appear at The Game Awards but only to win the Most Anticipated Game award, beating the likes of Ghost of Yotei and Monster Hunter Wilds. There was otherwise no new trailer or even a tease.And to be fair, this isnt unexpected. Before it unveiled the first trailer roughly one year ago, Rockstar informed fans in advance that it was dropping. Were not concerned because we expected something that it never really promised. No, the trepidation comes from the lack of a new trailer over a year since the first debuted.It probably shouldnt be such a big deal, even as Rockstars parent company Take-Two Interactive between selling off Private Division and shuttering developers said its confident in the Fall 2025 release more than once. Besides, a representative from the studio said the team is working on absolutely mind-blowing things after accepting the award for you guessed it Most Wanted Game at the Golden Joystick Awards. More to come, as they say. Yet, its a month later with no updates. As we near the holidays, the likelihood of any new trailer is growing bleaker.To be fair once more, a release of the magnitude of Grand Theft Auto 6 requires time and polish. As desperate as fans are for a release date, if only to count down the days and schedule sick days in advance, thats not the primary concern. At least, not right now as we near Fall 2025, desperation will likely set in, but the fact that there have been no updates or new details or anything all year is surprising.Is Rockstar obligated to provide an update? Probably not, but look at other releases from Take-Twos publishing label, 2K. Borderlands 4 received an announcement trailer in August, an in-game trailer showcasing the new setting of Kairos and new enemies like the Timekeeper alongside a look at its new Vault Hunters. Its gameplay is also set to debut in early 2025.Then theres Mafia: The Old Country, also announced in August, and a gameplay reveal recently. We know about the new protagonist, and Hangar 13 has outlined several details about the gameplay, from its structure thats more in line with the first two games, more tactical and deliberate combat, and much more. On a lesser note is Civilization 7, which has also received reveals, details and livestreams, the most recent showcasing the third age that players will dive into when it launches in February 2025.Meanwhile, the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 has crossed 227 million views before the year is out. Even if we assume that Mafia: The Old Country launches in August, GTA 6 would be just a few months out and has received almost nothing by way of new details in comparison. We dont know if the other protagonist alongside Lucia is actually named Jason. We dont know if we can surf or play beach volleyball. Its justsilence.There are several conclusions to draw from all this, the most obvious being that development isnt currently at a stage where Rockstar or Take-Two wants to build further on the hype. It may even internally be considering a delay, if not by a couple of weeks, to push into Winter 2025, then maybe straight into 2026. With how important it is for Take-Two Interactive, which has recorded pretty significant losses this year, any hint of a delay could have serious financial ramifications.Again, nothing is confirmed or even rumored in that regard. The team may have other plans besides simply dropping a new trailer, including previews and interviews with various outlets, which is when the marketing will really kick in. Look at Assassins Creed Shadows, for example. The delay from November 2024 to February 2025 may only be a few months, but the team cancelled hands-on previews and even pulled its gameplay from Tokyo Game Show 2024. From the development side, its about presenting a playable build that can generate more favorable impressions, which will then segue into the marketing side to generate positive hype.So while from our perspective, it may look like Rockstar wants to keep its cards close and not reveal too much before launch, it very likely needs other things in place before it can start hyping the release. Even if it doesnt reveal a release until roughly two months before launch, the team needs to be in a position before that where it can field questions from fans and provide concrete answers. Otherwise, you risk ending up in a similar position to Cyberpunk 2077 back in 2020 promising things that wont be available at launch.Of course, we could also devolve into straight panic and say that development is facing problems. Some might mention that report by Rockstar Magazine in 2021 about development allegedly being restarted in early 2021.Others may point to the leaks from September 2022 and how they actually affected development despite Take-Two saying the opposite. There may even be a few criticizing current-generation hardware and how Rockstar is struggling to really deliver the game without any major compromises. Any one of those could be legitimate, but as the industry has taught us over the years, development trouble could apply to every single release in some form or fashion. For Grand Theft Auto 6, it seems a given.However, the fact remains the first trailer dropped in December 2023, and theres been nothing else ever since. When seasons greetings are sent out, Rockstar may provide a small update, assuring fans that work continues unabetted and that it appreciates the support. Heck, it could even promise that more details are coming soon. It would still be nothing in terms of actual new content, but at least the thought counts.Regardless of what it does, the development team must be aware that the clock starts ticking in 2025. The spectre of Fall 2025 may not seem that prominent at the start, but it will continue to loom as each day passes and more fans become anxious at the lack of information. Or maybe itll drop a sick new trailer when the year kicks off, assuaging all concerns and sending us into a brand new spiral of discerning new details and hyper-analyzing everything. Whatever the case, the astronomical levels of hype and pressure will only grow from here on.Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.0 Commentarios 0 Acciones 6 Views