By Joel D. Joseph. Mr. Joseph is the
founder of www.waragainstplastic.com.
I have always thought that people who used Keurig K-Cups, those little plastic containers of coffee, were lazy. How hard is it to brew a cup of coffee? I have learned that heating plastic cups to make coffee leaches plastic particles and other contaminants into your body. Recent studies have shown that humans have plastic in their brains, arteries and other body parts. The human brain may contain up to a spoon's worth of tiny plastic shards-- not a spoonful, but the same weight (about seven grams) as a plastic spoon, according to new findings published in the journal Nature Medicine (February 24, 2025).
The researchers also found much higher levels of microplastics in brain tissue than in liver and kidney tissue. And microplastic concentrations were also higher in the brains of deceased patients who had been diagnosed with dementia compared to the brains of deceased individuals without dementia.
Keurig manufacturers plastic K-Cups. Other coffee companies make K-Cups that fit Keurig coffee machines including Starbucks, Seattle's Best, Lavazza, Dunkin, Tully's, Green Mountain, Gevalia, Peet's and many others.
Plastic K-Cups release harmful chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA), Bisphenol F (BPF) and Bisphenol S (BPS) when exposed to hot water during brewing. These chemicals, found in plastics, can leach into the coffee and potentially disrupt hormones and pose other health risks. Additionally, microplastics from the K-Cup's plastic components end up in the brewed coffee.
It's estimated that 20 billion K-Cups are disposed of worldwide annually, which translates into approximately 40 million pods per day. These single-use plastic pods significantly contribute to landfill waste, taking centuries to decompose and releasing harmful chemicals. The rising global demand for K-Cups is also leading to a corresponding increase in waste, with the annual footprint of discarded pods estimated to be more than 600,000 tons.
K-Cups are often made of mixed materials (plastic and aluminum) which are difficult to recycle, especially for the average consumer. Even though Keurig promotes plastic K-cups as recyclable, many consumers find it difficult to separate the components of K-Cups, leading to improper disposal in landfills.
The Securities and Exchange Commission Charged Keurig with Filing Inaccurate Annual Reports Regarding its Sales of K-Cups
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Keurig with filing inaccurate annual reports with the SEC and claimed that Keurig's statements regarding its tests validating that K-Cups could be "effectively recycled," without any qualification, were incomplete and inaccurate. One September 10, 2024, the SEC fined Keurig Dr Pepper $1.5 million for misleading statements about the recyclability of its K-Cup pods. This was a slap on the wrist for a multi-billion dollar company. The SEC alleged that Keurig made incomplete and inaccurate statements in its annual reports regarding the recyclability of its K-Cup products. Specifically, the SEC found that Keurig did not disclose that two major recycling companies had expressed significant negative feedback about the feasibility of recycling the pods curbside.
Protect Yourself
You can easily make a single cup of coffee with a coffee filter, coffee and a pour-over coffee dripper. You will not be ingesting plastic particles if you use a paper coffee filter. Some companies make metal filters that don't require a paper filter. Use a metal or ceramic dripper. If you are considering switching to tea, make sure that the "silk-like" tea bag is not made out of plastic.
Cambio Roasters is the first company to make aluminum K-cups. The founder, Kevin Hartley, formerly worked for Keurig. Aluminum K-cups don't leach plastic and are more easily recycled. These pods fit into Keurig coffeemakers.
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