Hamburg City, the second largest city in Germany is the first city to ban the use of coffee pods saying that the single-use coffee pods has damaging effects on the environment. Hamburg bans the use of coffee capsules from council-run buildings an attempt to reduce waste and find more environmentally-friendly alternatives.
But will America follow suit?
Hamburg Department of Environment and Energy explains that the pods cause "unnecessary resource consumption and waste generation, hence, shouldn't be bought with taxpayers' money". In the past decade the world has embraced the coffee capsule - sales of the pods in Western Europe and the US have more than tripled since 2011.
Coffee pods are your coffee capsules, otherwise known as K-cups which are also single servings of coffee but are packaged in plastic or aluminum rather than paper filters. Coffee pods are designed to be used with espresso machines or regular coffee brewers, whereas coffee capsules are meant to be used with single-serving pod brewing systems such as the Keurig K-Cup system. When shopping for coffee pods, it is important to note whether the product is an actual pod or a capsule. Either way, you don't help the environment since there are environmental repercussions every time you take your coffee when you use coffee pods!
Here's why.
The Problem with K-Cups and Coffee Pods
Damage to the Environment
Each coffee pod makes significant source of plastic chemicals in landfills. Most of them are non-biodegradable. You add to the generation of massive amounts of plastic waste every time you throw your coffee pods. They are not biodegradable or recyclable although some companies have started making biodegradable options.
With the rising levels of BPA and other plastic chemicals found in our groundwater, ocean water, experts warn that these chemicals may lead to the rising health concerns we are experiencing all over the world.
Coffee Pods Popularity Attributed to Making Easy Coffee
Almost one in three American homes now has a pod-based coffee machine because it's easy to use and each serving exact as it gives you a single-serve K-Cups or Pods of ground coffee. K-Cup inventor and co-founder John Sylvan never imagined they would be used outside of offices. As the inventor, he regrets why he invented the K-Cup.
Let's wait for America to follow suit. Or not.
