FAQs

About 90% of the total weight of a brewed pod is coffee grounds.

The remaining 10% of the weight is the lid, mesh filter and brown ring. They are all made with plant-based materials, many from renewable sources. They are all designed to be compostable in large-scale commercial composting facilities that process food and organic waste with no need to separate them from the coffee grounds!

The lid, the mesh filter and the brown ring on the pod are made of different materials.

• The unique brown ring is made with renewable materials, including upcycled coffee chaff.
• Our lid is a bio-based cellulose film made with sustainably-managed pulp and compostable materials.
• The filter is comprised of renewable plant-based materials.

Chaff is the thin natural skin of the coffee bean that comes off during the roasting process. It is similar to the skin on a raw, unroasted peanut.

Renewable substances from various plants are used and processed as part of the raw material for the pod.

These pods have earned two certifications.

The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) (www.bpiworld.org) runs an independent and comprehensive process. It certifies these pods meet or exceed the internationally-recognized ASTM D6868 standard for commercial compostability that confirms that the pods:

• Disintegrate within an established minimum time period
• Do not have a negative effect on compost quality
• Are not toxic for soil, and
• Meet strict rules about chemicals, including regulatory requirements for PFAs (fluorinated chemicals)

The Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA) runs a separate, independent and comprehensive process that uses tests at food waste composting facilities to certify that these pods break down as quickly and completely as composting facility operators typically need. (https://compostmanufacturingalliance.com)

Testing shows the pod can break down in as little as 5 weeks in commercial composting – faster than some common kinds of food waste in those same facilities.

These pods have met the internationally-recognized standard to earn the “certified commercially compostable” designation for processing in typical large-scale food and organic waste collection and composting programs. Some programs automatically accept items that are Certified Commercially Compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) and/or the Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA). Check with your municipality or composting program operator for local details. Facilities may not be available/may not exist in all areas, check locally.

There is no current North American home compostable standard or certification process to confirm how well items such as certified commercially compostable coffee pods break down in home or backyard composting.

If you don’t have access to a food waste collection program, you can learn how to set up your own at-home / backyard composting system:

In Canada: https://www.compost.org/backyard_compost/

In the United States: https://www.compostingcouncil.org/page/Education

As it is impossible for us to know the particular home composting conditions and methods that may be used by millions of different consumers, we can not, and do not, make a claim that our pod is home compostable.

Manufacturers of garbage disposal units typically do not recommend putting items such as coffee pods into those units.

The number of people with access to food waste collection programs is growing rapidly. For now, the pods would have to go in the regular garbage with other food waste.

Landfills are designed specifically so that nothing breaks down quickly in them – including food waste such as coffee. That’s why researchers can find 10-year-old carrots that are still orange inside and 40-year-old newspapers that are easy to read. Over the years, hot dogs and corn-on-the-cobs are a few of the other organic items that have also been found in landfills entirely intact.

Many governments are taking steps to cut food waste going into landfills because that waste breaks down into methane, a significant contributor to climate change. One step is introducing the large-scale food waste collection programs and processes where these pods are designed to break down.

These pods are designed to be compostable with other food and organic waste in large-scale commercial composting facilities, not for recycling. Small plastic items such as coffee pods are often rejected in recycling processes because of their size and/or the complexity of separating the materials, meaning they are likely to go to landfills.

Composting is a preferable solution for anything that involves food waste such as coffee that can contaminate recycling processes.

Bags marked “certified commercially compostable” meet or exceed an internationally-recognized standard. Some food waste collection and composting programs automatically accept items that are Certified Commercially Compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) and/or the Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA). Check with your own municipality or food waste collection program operator for local details

The freshness wrapping on pods marked “certified commercially compostable” meets or exceeds an internationally-recognized standard. Some food waste collection and composting programs automatically accept items that are certified commercially compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) and/or the Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA). Check with your own municipality or food waste collection program operator for local details.

Unless it is marked “certified commercially compostable”, the freshness wrapping should be disposed of with regular waste.

The amount of recycled content is indicated on the carton along with any certifications by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

We analyze new brewer types as they come to market to make sure that our certified commercially compostable pods work well for consumers. We encourage consumers with specific questions to send us an email at contactus@clubcoffee.com.

The green ring has a special coating so the pod works properly in certain single serve brewers, i.e. K 2.0 brewers.

Coffee brands show any of their certifications on the carton or other packaging.

Consumers who experience this issue commonly have hard water, including from wells. Keurig recommends that consumers de-scale their brewers at least every 3 to 6 months. They also sell filters through their website. Both steps can help bring the water pressure through the brewer to a level that typically solves this issue. We encourage consumers with specific questions or issues to send us an email at contactus@clubcoffee.com.