Keurig Class Action Lawsuit Says K-Cups Aren’t Recyclable

UPDATE 2: 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.

UPDATE: On June 28, 2019, 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.

A California woman alleges in a class action lawsuit that the so-called green version of the popular Keurig “K-cups” are not recyclable due to their small size.

Lead plaintiff Kathleen Smith claims in the Keurig class action lawsuit that Keurig Green Mountain deceptively labels their single serve coffee pods as recyclable.

According to the Keurig class action lawsuit, most municipal recycling facilities are not able to handle plastic the size of a coffee pod, making them another addition to the mountain of plastic waste produced by modern society.

“Nearly 90% of plastic waste is not recycled, with billions of tons of plastic becoming trash and litter,” alleges the Keurig coffee class action lawsuit. “As consumers become increasingly aware of the problems associated with plastic waste, they are increasingly susceptible to marketing claims reassuring them that the plastic used to make and to package the products that they purchase is recyclable.”

The Keurig K-cup class action lawsuit claims that Smith and other consumers relied on representations on the Green Mountain K-cups assuring them that the product packaging was recyclable.

Smith says that she would not have purchased or paid as much for Keurig Green Mountain coffee pods had she known these pods would end up in a landfill or in the ocean alongside other plastic waste.

“If Plaintiff had known that the Products were not recyclable, Plaintiff would not have purchased the Products and would have instead sought out single serve pods or other coffee products that are otherwise compostable, recyclable or reusable,” alleges the Keurig class action lawsuit.

According to the Keurig K-cup coffee class action lawsuit, Keurig Green Mountain is well aware that their coffee pods are not able to be recycled by most facilities.

“Despite Defendants’ marketing and advertising of the Products as recyclable, Defendants know that the Products typically end up in landfills,” alleges the K-cup coffee pods class action lawsuit. “Defendants’ representations that the Products are recyclable are material, false, misleading and likely to deceive members of the public.”

Further, “[t]hese representations also violate California’s legislatively declared policy against misrepresenting the characteristics of goods and services,” Smith says in the Keurig coffee class action.

According to the Keurig class action lawsuit, the popularity of the single serve coffee maker resulted in an environmental backlash after consumers discovered that their caffeine habit contributes to the plastic waste crisis.

“As consumer backlash for the Products have increased over the years, even the inventor of single serve coffee pods, John Sylvan, has publicly stated his regret for inventing the Products and expressed doubts about whether they could ever be recycled,” alleges the Keurig K-cups class action lawsuit.

As an alternative to simply brewing less coffee in a traditional coffee pot, Keurig Green Mountain began advertising a supposedly recyclable coffee pod, alleges the K-cups class action lawsuit. Consumers are instructed on the product packaging to simply “PEEL,” “EMPTY,” and “RECYCLE” the pods.

Consumers, however, “are wasting their time and efforts since, even when they meticulously follow Defendants’ instructions, the Products cannot be collected, separated or recovered from the waste stream due to their size and, even if they can be, the Products will ultimately end up in landfills anyway.”

The Keurig class action lawsuit accuses Keurig Green Mountain of violating California law and deceiving consumers.

The plaintiff seeks to represent a Class of consumers from California who purchased Keurig Green Mountain coffee pods.

The Keurig K-cups coffee class action lawsuit was originally filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Alameda. The case was removed to federal court on Nov. 2.

Smith is represented by Howard Hirsch and Ryan Berghoff of Lexington Law Group.

The Keurig K-cups Class Action Lawsuit is Smith v. Keurig Green Mountain Inc., Case No. 3:18-cv-06690-JSC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.