Keurig Canada Inc., operating as Keurig Dr Pepper Canada, and Circular Materials announced that all empty K-Cup庐 pods produced by KDP Canada, across its owned, licensed and partner brands, are now accepted for recycling at home in Ontario鈥檚 Blue Box Program. This marks an important advancement in the province鈥檚 transition to a new and enhanced extended producer responsibility (EPR) recycling system for packaging and paper products.聽The program is 100% funded by producers 鈥� the companies that supply packaging and paper products to consumers in Ontario, including the familiar brands and retailers residents interact with every day. This means municipalities and taxpayers no longer pay for recycling services.
With this launch in Ontario, approximately 75% of Canadians can now put their K-Cup庐 pods in their Blue Box. This news demonstrates how packaging design is responding to the needs of Ontarians to help make their every day recycling routines easier. Important progress like this reflects a close collaboration between KDP Canada and Circular Materials, a not-for-profit organization that is responsible for managing Ontario鈥檚 new residential recycling system. K-Cup庐 pods, made from recyclable polypropylene #5, meet Ontario鈥檚 recyclability standards and can be efficiently collected supporting the new Blue Box program.
鈥淭he inclusion of empty K-Cup庐 pods, and other recyclable plastic single-serve coffee packaging, demonstrates what can be achieved when producers and stakeholders work together to improve recycling for Ontarians and support strong environmental goals,鈥澛爏aid Allen Langdon, CEO, Circular Materials. 鈥淏y expanding聽the list of items that聽can聽be put in Ontario鈥檚 recycling system to include empty K-Cup庐 pods, we鈥檙e giving residents the clarity and convenience they鈥檝e been asking for, while helping producers meet their sustainability commitments.鈥�
鈥淎t Keurig Dr Pepper Canada, we believe sustainability happens when innovation and collaboration intersect,鈥� said Ryan Bahadur, Interim President, Keurig Dr Pepper Canada. 鈥淥ntario鈥檚聽modernized聽Blue Box program and聽the acceptance聽of K-Cup庐 pods mark a significant step towards聽greater harmonization and聽a more circular economy for Canadians.聽We鈥檙e聽proud to be contributing聽to聽practical, scalable solutions that make recycling at home easier.鈥�
To support the rollout KDP Canada, in collaboration with Circular Materials, will launch a province-wide education campaign to inform residents of this new recycling opportunity and support consumer education on recycling best practices. The campaign will provide clear guidance on how to prepare K-Cup庐 pods for the Blue Box: peel off the lid, empty the coffee grounds, and recycle the empty pod. This easy-to-understand guidance is designed to help consumers participate confidently in the enhanced program. With the improved K-Cup pod design that now includes an easy-peel lid across all K-Cup庐 pods manufactured by KDP Canada, the preparation for recycling is easier than ever.
Circular Materials is pleased to introduce additional enhancements to recycling across Ontario as the province transitions to a new EPR Blue Box recycling system. These enhancements include a new expanded and unified material list across Ontario where residents are able to recycle the same and even more materials no matter where they live in the province, including hot and cold beverage cups, all recyclable plastic coffee pods, toothpaste聽tubes, black plastic containers, deodorant, ice cream tubs, frozen juice containers, and more.