“As part of our overall commitment to corporate social responsibility, we are dedicated to reducing our environmental impact by cutting our energy consumption, advancing our product packaging, and pursuing many other initiatives,” said Paul Comey, Vice President of Environmental Affairs for GMCR. “We believe K-Cups made with renewable resources like paper represent a positive step as we continue to search for more sustainable alternatives to our current portion pack technology.”

“Our analysis suggests that K-Cups made with paper have a smaller environmental impact than K-Cups made with plastic because they reduce the use of non-renewable materials,” said Comey. “But we’re not stopping here. Our research has indicated additional areas of opportunity to reduce our environmental impact. We are collaborating with our packaging suppliers on more significant improvements to our portion pack materials, and we look forward to sharing our progress.”

K-Cup portion packs contain the exact amount of coffee or tea to create a perfect, single cup. The construction of plastic K-Cups® protects coffee from the effects of light, air, and moisture. This new paper-based K-Cup is not currently a viable solution for coffee because the technology does not provide a sufficient barrier to ensure product freshness. Tea can be effectively protected by paper that is lined with polyethylene. While this layer prevents the paper-based K-Cup from being recyclable, it helps to maintain the freshness of the tea and allows the paper to withstand the water, heat, and pressure of the brewing process.

SOURCE: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters