Keurig Transitioning to Recylable K-Cups

keurig kcups Environmental Leader

by | Sep 21, 2015

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keurig kcups Environmental LeaderKeurig Green Mountain is transitioning its current, largely unrecyclable K-Cup product line to fully recylable polypropylene, Plastics News reports. The company made the announcement at the Plastics Caps & Closures Conference in Itasca, New York.

The company’s chief sustainability officer Monique Oxender referred to the announcement as “the first steps of that journey,” but could not say how long it would take to make the transition. She said that switching over to PP creates fundamental shift in the company’s supply chain, so it will take some time. The company had committed to making 100 percent of its K-Cup packs recyclable by 2020 in its 2013 Sustainability Report, and it will fulfill that commitment.

Research the company has completed with KW Plastics Recycling indicates that K-Cups can make it through a recycling center’s sorting process and into bales of recycled plastic, but to be recycled successfully in the future, the foil lids should be peeled off and the contents removed before the pods are placed in recycling bins.

Photo credit: K-Cups via Shutterstock

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