You finally joined the Keurig coffee generation this Christmas. But you’re confused, because you thought the pods – the little plastic cups – aren’t recyclable. Yet there’s a recycle symbol on some of them that came with your machine – Keurig or another brand.
They are recyclable in some cities, but not Timmins. The city’s environmental coordinator, Christina Beaton, says it’s because there’s no guarantee of what the pods are made of.
“They range from being recyclable, compostable to biodegradable,” she explains. “ So the composition along with the cleanliness of the product can lead to increased contamination rates.”
Any contamination in a recycle bin ends up with the material being sent to the garbage dump anyway.
(Bob McIntyre, MyTimminsNow.com staff)
There are, however, reusable pods available. You load your own coffee into them.
“We encourage the use of the reusable pods to reduce waste altogether,” says Beaton. “And then for the coffee grinds, we encourage you to put them in your back yard composter.”
Information on this and any other recycling issue is available on the Timmins Recylepedia app.