BigGreen.co.uk declares coffee pods Britain’s environmental enemy

BigGreen.co.uk has spoken out against coffee pods saying they are environmentally one of Britain’s biggest problems. The UK waste collector said that coffee pods are a horrendous waste of resources, which can only be burned or sent to landfill. “There's very little we can do to recycle these things, and they end up either going straight to landfill, or being directed to energy recovery (the burning of waste to generate electricity),” said Mark Hall, a spokesperson for BigGreen.co.uk, in a statement. BigGreen.co.uk said that businesses seem to be the biggest culprit for the tide of coffee pod waste. “Not only are they ubiquitous in reception areas, but they're also being offered to staff as a means to replace canteen facilities,” said Hall, in the statement. “BigGreen.co.uk operators say that general waste from companies is now heaving with used coffee capsules.” According to a report in trade magazine The Grocer, UK sales of the capsules were nearly £87 million (US$130 million) in the year to August 2014, and are expected to top £100 million (US$148 million) in 2015. This equates to 350 million empty pods going in the bin in the last year alone. BigGreen.co.uk said that UK landfill sites are fast reaching capacity, with only very limited scope for opening new sites due to complex planning regulations and local opposition. “Coffee pod machines always struck us as the solution to a problem that didn't exist in the first place,” said Mark, in the statement. “It wasn't as if using a filter coffee machine was that difficult anyway.” BigGreen.co.uk said it urges both householders and businesses to think carefully before investing in coffee pods. “If you're the kind of person that cares about the environment, you might want to wait until a green alternative emerges,” said Hall. Earlier this month American K-Cup inventor John Sylvan told The Atlantic newspaper that coffee pods will never be recyclable and that he regrets his invention. Watch: Kill The K-Cup, an online petition against coffee pods, recently released the apocalyptic video below.