Keurig Can’t Escape Recyclable K-Cups Class Action

UPDATE: On Sept. 21, 2020, a federal judge in California certified a Class of Keurig K-Cup buyers who allege that Keurig Green Mountain falsely labels its pods as recyclable.

A judge has determined that Keurig must face a class action lawsuit alleging that the company’s “K-Cup” single-serve coffee pods are not really recyclable, as advertised.

U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. determined that plaintiff Kathleen Smith had sufficiently established her claims, contrary to Keurig’s efforts to have the case dismissed.

Keurig said that Smith had not fully shown that reasonable customers would be misled by Keurig’s advertisements that the K-Cups were recyclable.

In their bid for dismissal, Keurig said that most customers would realize that the K-Cups are not recyclable everywhere, though they are advertised as recyclable.

However, Judge Gilliam pointed out that in her claims, Smith argued that the single serve pods were not recyclable anywhere. The judge determined that this assertion was sufficient at this point in the legal process.

Firing back against Keurig’s argument on this point, Judge Gilliam said, “Common sense would not so clearly lead a person to believe that a package labeled as ‘recyclable’ is not recyclable anywhere.”

Keurig also argued that the cups are in fact able to be labeled as recyclable, per the Federal Trade Commission’s requirements for such labeling. However, Judge Gilliam disagreed saying that Smith’s assertions that the cups are not recyclable had been sufficiently establish.

The Keurig K-Cup class action lawsuit argued that most cities’ recycling facilities do not accept polypropylene plastic, the material that makes up the pods.

Additionally, the Keurig class action lawsuit asserts that the facilities are not able to handle products as small as the pods, nor are the paper filters inside of the pod able to be removed before they are recycled, which renders the whole item not recyclable because the paper is contaminated.

Judge Gilliam said, “the Green Guides state that if a product is rendered non-recyclable because of its size or its components — even if the product’s composite materials are recyclable — then labeling the product as recyclable would constitute deceptive marketing.”

Smith’s Keurig coffee pod class action lawsuit argues that she and many other customers were deceived by Keurig’s marketing, and were financially injured by their purchase.

She says that had she known that the coffee pods were not recyclable, she would not have purchased them or would not have paid as much for them.

On this point, Judge Gilliam says “at this state, the complaint’s allegations that the plaintiff paid more than she would have in reliance on the labels are sufficient for both federal standing requirements and the heightened standing requirements for UCL claims.”

The Keurig pod recycling class action lawsuit asserts that Keurig breached its express warranty with its customers, and violated California consumer law and unfair competition laws by misleadingly labeling the K-Cups as recyclable.

Smith is represented by Howard Hirsch and Ryan Berghoff of Lexington Law Group and Gideon Kracov of the Law Office of Gideon Kracov.

The Keurig K-Cup Recycling Class Action Lawsuit is Smith v. Keurig Green Mountain Inc., Case No. 4:18-cv-06690, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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