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Could K-Cups be banned in the U.S.?

About 27 percent of households now own a single-cup brewer, with the pod systems being even more popular in Western Europe. This year, in Hamburg, Germany, they actually banned them in all government buildings.

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. -- So, do you do the Keurig thing?

About 27 percent of households now own a single-cup brewer, with the pod systems being even more popular in Western Europe. This year, in Hamburg, Germany, they actually banned them in all government buildings.

Could the the United States be the next place to ban K-Cups?

"I doubt it. I think in public places where there is likely a higher volume of coffee to be made and consumed by people in those buildings the single-use maybe creates a significant amount of waste that's unnecessary," says Tim Smith, Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota.

Smith continues, "K-Cups are made out of plastic and an aluminum foil cap. The combination of plastics and foil can be difficult to separate."

But, Smith adds, that's not the largest issue.

"Often the impact associated with getting the coffee, transporting the coffee, grinding and roasting the coffee is much larger than making the plastic and recycling it."

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