The K-Cup Coffee Pod Problem • Hacker News Board

Re: The K-Cup Coffee Pod Problem

#21

Post by jsprogrammer » Sat, Mar 07, 2015, 9:59 PM UTC

Dylan16807 wrote: post #20

jsprogrammer wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, instead of burying the carbon (or just not incentivizing its production), your company burns the plastic into the atmosphere?

Is the little bit of carbon in the plastic anywhere close to the biggest issue here? Lookup up the carbon offset price gives me under $20 per ton .

What is the bigger issue? I did imply that not purchasing the carbon (and therefore, not incentivizing its extraction) would be better than burning it (and whatever other pollutants are created by the combustion of K-cups, or equivalent) into the atmosphere.

My lungs don't really care about your 'carbon offset price' denominated in US dollars.

Re: The K-Cup Coffee Pod Problem

#22

Post by Dylan16807 » Sat, Mar 07, 2015, 10:05 PM UTC

jsprogrammer wrote: post #21

Dylan16807 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the little bit of carbon in the plastic anywhere close to the biggest issue here? Lookup up the carbon offset price gives me under $20 per ton .

What is the bigger issue? I did imply that not purchasing the carbon (and therefore, not incentivizing its extraction) would be better than burning it (and whatever other pollutants are created by the combustion of K-cups, or equivalent) into the atmosphere. My lungs don't really care about your 'carbon offset price' denominated in US dollars.

Your lungs don't care about carbon either. When I hear about things getting incinerated I worry about all the potential toxic chemicals, and what is done with the residue. Producing carbon dioxide and water is the ideal outcome.

I bring up the carbon price because they could pay next to nothing and leave the atmosphere with less carbon in it. That's not the hard part. The hard part is making sure we're not spilling ugly chemicals all over the environment, whether that's though burial or burning.

Re: The K-Cup Coffee Pod Problem

#23

Post by rhizome » Sat, Mar 07, 2015, 10:07 PM UTC

brandon272 wrote: post #13

xemoka wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except it looks like OneCups are now including the "Freedom Clip" with each box: https://www.gourmet-coffee.com/Keurig-DRM-Freedom-Clip.html

Couldn't Keurig sue them for selling that?

They did, and lost.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/12/19/free...

Re: The K-Cup Coffee Pod Problem

#24

Post by semi-extrinsic » Sat, Mar 07, 2015, 10:12 PM UTC

ethagnawl wrote: post #10

joshuapants wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a big fan of the aeropress. Tastes amazing. I think K-Cups taste like Nescafe.

The AeroPress does indeed produce fantastic espresso. If only the process didn't involve near-boiling water and plastic ...

What do you mean? The materials it is built from are FDA approved for food preparation up to 100 C.

And what it produces is very far from espresso. Unless you call your americano an espresso.

Re: The K-Cup Coffee Pod Problem

#25

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Mar 07, 2015, 10:30 PM UTC

semi-extrinsic wrote: post #24

ethagnawl wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The AeroPress does indeed produce fantastic espresso. If only the process didn't involve near-boiling water and plastic ...

What do you mean? The materials it is built from are FDA approved for food preparation up to 100 C. And what it produces is very far from espresso. Unless you call your americano an espresso.

[deleted]

Re: The K-Cup Coffee Pod Problem

#26

Post by bane » Sat, Mar 07, 2015, 10:40 PM UTC

jsprogrammer wrote: post #16

bane wrote: post #14

My work burns through K-Cups, but we also have a 100% no-landfill corporate policy. Everything gets recycled, or if it's not recyclable, is processed by a waste processing company and turned into feed for local incinerators. Where possible, even "plastic" items like forks and spoons in the cafeteria are made out of recyclable materials. But the K-Cups won't die. They're everywhere. They must make up a significant fra…

So, instead of burying the carbon (or just not incentivizing its production), your company burns the plastic into the atmosphere?

Yeah, it seems weird considering all the rest of the focus on other environmental friendly policies.

Re: The K-Cup Coffee Pod Problem

#27

Post by carbocation » Sat, Mar 07, 2015, 10:47 PM UTC

rhizome wrote: post #23

brandon272 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't Keurig sue them for selling that?

They did, and lost. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/12/19/free...

I might have missed it, but that seems to clarify how they beat Keurig's lawsuit re: the cups themselves, but not the Freedom Clip.

Re: The K-Cup Coffee Pod Problem

#28

Post by toomuchtodo » Sat, Mar 07, 2015, 10:58 PM UTC

jsprogrammer wrote: post #16

bane wrote: post #14

My work burns through K-Cups, but we also have a 100% no-landfill corporate policy. Everything gets recycled, or if it's not recyclable, is processed by a waste processing company and turned into feed for local incinerators. Where possible, even "plastic" items like forks and spoons in the cafeteria are made out of recyclable materials. But the K-Cups won't die. They're everywhere. They must make up a significant fra…

So, instead of burying the carbon (or just not incentivizing its production), your company burns the plastic into the atmosphere?

Trash incinerators run under strict scrubbing regulations.

Re: The K-Cup Coffee Pod Problem

#29

Post by zyx321 » Sat, Mar 07, 2015, 11:05 PM UTC

keslag wrote: post #6

I find EZ-Cup the best solution, I use a little paper filter that fits in a reusable cup, and I get to use fresh ground coffee. Cost per cup is around a dime or so, and the cleanup is literally just pop the filter into the compost bucket. It may not be as good as an AeroPress, though I can't tell the difference. I find the fresh beans, quality coffee, and a good grinder are far more noticeable to me than press vs. dr…

At that point, how s it different from a Senseo?

As a matter of fact, why would you want a Keurig over a Senseo if all you're ever going to make is plain coffee?

Re: The K-Cup Coffee Pod Problem

#30

Post by rhizome » Sat, Mar 07, 2015, 11:05 PM UTC

carbocation wrote: post #27

rhizome wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did, and lost. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/12/19/free...

I might have missed it, but that seems to clarify how they beat Keurig's lawsuit re: the cups themselves, but not the Freedom Clip.

Keurig does not appear to have any intellectual property claims to the ink used. At least not yet.