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Are Coffee Pods a Recycling Problem?
June 20, 2013 05:58 AM - Leon Kaye, Triple Pundit
As the consumption of coffee pods surges in the U.S., so do the questions about their disposal and recycling. Although using a pod to make a cup of joe takes about the same amount of time as it does to fire up some water and then make a French press of coffee, the popularity of the single-serve coffee pod machines has taken off. For now, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters-owned Kaurig has taken the lead in the coffee pod market share race, but Nestlé’s Nespresso and Starbucks' Verismo also fare well among java fans. All of the coffee pod machine manufacturers use flowery language on their sustainability pages to describe how they are working to make the pods' disposal and recycling more "sustainable." The fact is, however, that there is no differentiation in what happens to these pods after use; all of them are creating more waste.
Last night I took a drive to Sunset Park, only to find it silent. For the last few weeks I had been taking regular trips to the park to track the progress of the Brood II Cicadas that everyone seems to be talking about. They are silent at night, the only proof of their existence [...]
Western burial traditions have been known to not be the most eco friendly. Practices like burying coffins in concrete vaults interrupt the natural process of decomposition and embalming bodies in formaldehyde introduces hazardous toxins to the environment. Fortunately, over the last few years, there has been a change in attitude, with more and more people opting for more green options.
When I first read about NASA’s $125,000 grant to Systems and Materials Research Corporation to create a 3-D food printer, I was excited, confused, and a little weirded out. A range of thoughts and questions ran through my mind. What would the food be made out of? Would it taste and feel like real food, [...]