manufacturers can help their customers minimize risk and solve problems. this has recently been highlighted when it comes to singleserve coffee pods.when major coffee manufacturers introduced singleserve coffee pods a few years ago, they probably weren&rsquot bargaining for national news coverage and contentious debates.in their minds, they had found a better, more convenient way to get a cup of freshly brewed coffee. they knew that instead of having to make an entire pot of coffee &mdash about 46 servings on average &mdash singleserve coffee pods had the potential to produce less waste and consume less energy. in fact, a study conducted by coffee pod manufacturer keurig found that its brewing machines use less energy, water and coffee grinds when compared to the traditional method of brewing coffee.however, critics of singleserve coffee capsules often focus on the packaging that holds coffee grounds. they see this packaging as a waste stream that would not otherwise exist in the traditional drip brewing machines. traditional brewing machines using ground coffee beans are perceived to use less material because they are packaging larger volumes. singleservice coffee pods are taking a lot of open criticism in the media.for instance, a recent story in maclean&rsquos, titled &ldquocoffee pods the new ecovillain,&rdquo paints the pods as largely unrecyclable and the &ldquoecovillain of our times.&rdquo there is a social media campaign called &ldquokill the kcup,&rdquo which has produced a video garnering almost 700,000 views since its release at the beginning of this year. it portrays the waste stream generated by singleservice coffee pods with relatively high production value. the clip borrows from the style of the film cloverfield, where a group of urban dwellers are faced with a godzillatype monster that leaves death and destruction in its wake. however, in the &ldquokill the kcup&rdquo film the monster is composed of kcups.looking specifically at the numbers, a study done by keurig shows that the actual pods carry a significant environmental footprint throughout the whole process. in a life cycle assessment done in 2009, product packaging accounted for 24.2 percent and endoflife or disposal accounted for 5 percent of carbon emissions. compared to brewing with traditional drip coffee, using singleservice pods accounts for three times more global warming potential over the life cycle of a product. another study completed in germany in 2011, published in the international journal of consumer studies, found that preparation of coffee by the consumer accounted for 30 percent of overall emissions in the lifecycle of the product. the environmental impact of the automatic machines and the packaging of coffee for these machines was the highest of those tested, and required significantly more energy consumption than other methods of preparation.with all the bad press and mounting studies, customers have been offloading their singleserve coffee machines, leaving producers of singleserve coffee pods scrambling for solutions.it&rsquos in situations like these where manufacturers can lend a hand. by helping their customers think about the contentious parts of their product, manufacturers can help them minimize the risk of consumer outcry or other market barriers.it&rsquos a type of risk management and requires asking questions about their customers&rsquo needs and values. questions like do your customers consider how easy your products are to dispose of what do customers need from packaging to enjoy their purchase do they have environmental or economic values that influence their buying decisionsin the case of singleservice coffee pods, manufacturers can offer an alternative. using bioplastics or biodegradable resins to create packaging, manufacturers have developed a compostable coffee pod. it&rsquos a nonwastegenerating alternative that is similar functionally to traditional plastics. however, the compostable pod breaks down just as the organic contents of the pod would.the pod has an aromapreserving outer packaging. it is constructed to withstand the highpressure and the hightemperature environments of singleservice coffee machines. the packaging still includes a biodegradable filter. the plastic pod is made up of three functional layers the outer carrier layer, the thin barrier film layer and the inner sealing layer. these layers are sealed together with a compostable laminating adhesive. there is a smooth outer surface that provides a great medium for labelling and making sure packaging remains true to brand.while a manufacturer has to consider the operational differences of working with biodegradable resins, the customer shouldn&rsquot be faced with any noticeable differences. the customer still gets the convenience of a singleserve cup of coffee that uses less water and coffee grounds, and avoids adding to the waste stream. it&rsquos the best of both worlds. compostable and convenient an individual serving of coffee with no side of guilt.singleservice coffee pod makers get to tell a great story and, more importantly, change the conversation around their product. they get to say that both innovation and convenience can be possible &ndash which is much better than &ldquokcups are a giant, citycrushing monster.&rdquoharemar plastics905 7617552www.haremar.comdid you enjoy this article click here to subscribe to flexible packaging magazine. 
